SAN ANTONIO -- Converse Judson may get a ton of hype for its consistently dominant football team, but one super-fast track runner is making sure his sport gets a chunk of that attention.

“It’s really encouraging knowing that people actually know that we actually have a solid track team and have somebody that’s pretty good coming out of track for Judson," said TreBien Gilbert, who graduated from Judson last spring. 

One of the fastest guys his age in the country, Gilbert is headed to compete for Arkansas. But it hasn’t been an easy journey, thanks to a hip flexor tear at the beginning of his junior season that sidelined him for 14 months.

“Before Texas relays I was getting kind of worried, because I didn’t know, I was like 'ooh it’s getting kind of weird,'" Gilbert said. 

He’s considered a late recruit, and hadn’t committed until the spring of his spring season, when he literally outran the competition at Texas Relays.

“I ran the potentially number one fastest time in 300-meter hurdles in the nation, and then Arkansas came and started talking to me," Gilbert said. 

Gilbert competes in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, the 4x400 relay, the triple jump, and will run the 60-meter and 400-meter meter indoor hurdles in college.

Despite holding city records and being named the Gatorade Texas Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year, a USA Today first-Team All-American for track and field and the Express-News Athlete of the Year, recruitment wasn’t easy. Compared to sports with large rosters, such as football, college track teams have significantly smaller recruitment classes and might only have one athlete per event on the team.

“You can have a really fast time, and it’s going to be hard for you to get a school because they’re looking for literally the fastest person in the nation," Gilbert said.

The team mentality is something that Judson pushes, and that Gilbert looked for in a college.

“We always preach to our kids, ‘You know track can sometimes be labeled or considered an individual sport, we put a heavy emphasis here at Judson that track’s a team sport," said Joel Hall, head track and field coach at Judson. 

Being part of a team is something Hall thinks lead to some of Gilbert’s successes, because it forced him to take things one step at a time.

“Thinking ahead of the game, when it comes to hurdles, that when you trip up, you know it takes just a fraction of a mistake in hurdles to mess up," Hall said.

Running isn’t the only thing Gilbert is focused on, as strong academics were a huge part of his college criteria. He plans to study biochemistry.

“If they didn’t have my major or we didn’t feel like the academics was up to par, I wasn’t going to be going there and Arkansas just luckily had both sides of it," Gilbert said. 

And both Gilbert and Hall credit Gilbert’s mother for helping him keep a level head throughout his high school career.

“Even when I started slipping a little bit because my mind was a little messed up because of track and I really wanted to run, my momma’s like ‘You still got to get these academics straight, just because, you know, these colleges really want to see that first,'" Gilbert said.

“ Mom puts him in check, keeps him level headed. He has a great family, a good support system, that keeps him in check," Hall said.

Another thing Gilbert looked for in a school was the potential to compete internationally.

“I just liked how they had an Olympic mindset. They really wanted me to come there and not just help the team, they want to build another good Olympic team for USA," Gilbert said. 

Even though his next step is starting his career as a Razorback, Gilbert still has his eye on the future. After undergrad, he wants to run professionally and go to med school, potentially simultaneously. And eventually, he plans to work as a neuropathologist.