In his five years at Cal State Fullerton, Mason Rollins has had some ups and downs.

 

Rollins, a walk-on student-athlete, was dogged by hamstring and hip pain in his first two years on the Titan track team. The sprinter rebounded with a strong junior season before redshirting in 2017-18, primarily to improve his academic performance.

 

As a redshirt senior this year, he's the Big West leader in the 100- and 200-meter races, was named conference Athlete of the Week twice and will receive a communications degree this month. And to Rollins' immense satisfaction, he's on a full scholarship.

 

"Of course, I'm looking forward to receiving my degree," said Rollins. "And I've wanted to win the conference as a team and win my individual events. But the scholarship also was important. It was a long time coming. It's something I would think about daily. I worked hard and received something that I felt was meant to be."

 

Rollins, who hails from Bakersfield, has recorded multiple personal best times in the 100 and 200 this season. He will lead the Titans at the two-day Big West Track and Field Championships, which start Friday.

 

The competition at UC Santa Barbara's Pauley Track Facility begins with field events on Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m. Track events begin at 2 p.m. both days. The Titan men's team will be looking for its third-straight title, while the women's squad hopes to improve on its fourth-place showing from a year ago.

 

The 22-year-old Rollins will compete in the two sprint events and will run the third leg of the Fullerton 4x100-meter relay team. He has personal bests of 10.45 in the 100 and 21.2 in the 200 and has qualified for the NCAA West Regionals in the 100. At the Big West finals, his main goals are to qualify for the regionals in the 200 and as part of the 4x100 relay team, which has a best time of 40.33.

 

As for specific time targets at the conference finals, Rollins said he would like to run in the 10.3s in the 100, at least a 20.8 in the 200 and have the relay team finish in the 39-second range. Marquis Rogers, Rasaun House and Marcel Espinoza are the other members of the relay team.

 

"I've been training since June. I knew it was all or nothing this year," said Rollins, who gives Titan assistant coach Marques Barosso a big share of the credit for his breakout year. "Coach B put a lot of trust in me. He pushed everyone to meet their expectations. He brought in a sports psychologist who made me think about how I approach practice and how to calm myself in the [starting] blocks. Once I get down, I relax and have peaceful thoughts until I hear the gun."

 

Rollins' growth has been a sight to behold, said Barosso, who guides the Titan sprinters. "He has matured on some many levels – in the classroom and on the track. And it's been great to watch.

 

"When he arrived here, he was 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-9, and now he's grown to 6 feet. He was naturally fast, but he didn't lift weights or train properly in high school. And it was all too much for him the first couple years," said Barosso, a Fullerton graduate who joined the coaching staff in Rollins' freshman year. "He's really focused now and has come a long way."

 

John Elders, who is in his 31st year as the track and field head coach, said Rollins' journey has been remarkable. "The things I'll remember most about Mason – his legacy so to speak – is how he improved as a student, improved as an athlete, and how he has matured as a young man. He is a really good guy, humble and understated. It's been very rewarding to watch his progress, especially this year. I'm very happy for him."

 

Rollins is a graduate of Mira Monte High School in southeast Bakersfield. He played football all for four years, lining up first as a running back before becoming a slot-receiver and then a wide receiver. After the football season ended in his senior year, he decided to try a second sport.

 

"I wanted to stay active, so I considered playing baseball or running track," he said. After choosing the latter, he ran sprints – primarily the 100 – and became the track team's MVP.

 

Elders invited him to join the Titan track team as a walk-on, and he enrolled in fall 2014. He was plagued his first two years with hamstring and hip pain that carried over from some high school injuries.

 

"I used to think, 'Am I ever going to break through these injuries?' I was at a stage in my life where I was feeling down. I didn't think I could run the times I knew I could run," Rollins said.

 

After his sophomore year, he knew he wanted to reach a higher level. "After preserving through all these challenges, I pushed myself more mentally but also physically and came in with a whole different attitude."

 

Rollins began undergoing more physical therapy. He worked with Fullerton's athletic trainers to strengthen his hip mobility and as well as his hamstring and abdominal muscles. "I had a lot of exercises every day and continued the routines at home," he said.

 

As a junior, he improved his 100 and 200 personal records with times of 10.54 and 21.40 and began to occasionally run in the 400. He reached the Big West final heat in both races, placing second in the 100 and fourth in the 200. "Just being able to make it to the final was a huge accomplishment for me," Rollins said.

 

He then opted to take a redshirt year in fall 2017. "I had some academic issues that were going on and had some other problems at home. I was kind of mentally drained. After talking with coach Barosso, we figured it would be best for me to redshirt."

 

Mason Rollins, a redshirt senior from Bakersfield, plans to run in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay events at the Big West track championships at UC Santa Barbara.

 

Rollins, who had switched majors from kinesiology to communications as a junior, spent his extra time wisely. He made classroom studies his top priority. He continued to work out with the team while improving his diet and sleep habits.

 

"The injuries slowed him down, but he bounced back and was really successful. He was a major contributor when we won our first men's championship in 2017," said Elders. "But we had to challenge him to step up as a student. And he answered that challenge."

 

Midway through his redshirt year, Mason was called into Elder's office and informed he would be on a full scholarship for the remainder of his Titan career.

 

"I had proven I was talented on the track, but I had to show I could handle my academics. When I was called into the office that day and got the news, it was a great feeling," said Rollins.

 

Rollins' favorite race is the 200. "I really like the 200 because I'm able to think while I'm running the longer distance. And handling turns is my specialty."

 

"I'm most happy when I'm running at practice or thinking back about the previous race. I analyze all the things I did wrong and correct them for the next race."

 

As an elder statesman on the Titan track team, Rollins mentors many teammates. "Mason is a good role model for most of us," said Mia Franco, a junior sprinter from Stockton. "He demonstrates things and gives little tips on how to improve.

 

"He has a great attitude and is very positive all of the time. When he runs, we all stop and watch him."

 

Rollins' father, Lesley, isn't surprised his son is leaving Fullerton on a high note. "Mason is determined to progress and get better at what he's doing. He's always been about achieving. I'm really, really, really proud of my son."

 

Growing up in Bakersfield, Lesley competed in football, basketball, baseball, gymnastics and wrestling. "I think Mason inherited his athletic ability from me, but he's done a lot on his own. But I don't know where he got his height. My wife and I are both 5-foot-5."

 

Lesley is a welder in the petroleum industry. His wife, Lorraine, is a Bakersfield City School District employee. Originally from Middlesex, England, she came to Bakersfield to work as an au pair. On the night before returning to England, Lorraine and some cousins went to a bar where she met Lesley. "I guess it was meant to be," said Rollins, who has an older sister, Paige, and a younger sister, Peyton.

 

Rollins will graduate with a communications degree with an emphasis on advertising. He likes exploring how websites and social media channels can be tapped to market products.

 

He is producing online blogs and podcast to market the Fullerton track and field team as part of an internship. His work appears on Wix.com and WordPress.com. After his track career ends, he will travel to the central U.S. for a second internship.

 

"One day I was walking home from campus and noticed a Vivint Smart Security Home store had just opened. I spoke with the manager about my desire to serve an internship." After a couple weeks, he was interviewed and was granted an internship. Rollins will work with the marketing and sales teams at the company's St. Louis offices.

 

In his spare time, Rollins enjoys video games, freshwater fishing, skateboarding, cooking and building model cars. He envisions designing T-shirts and starting his own clothing brand. But his main interests revolve around music.

 

"I love editing and sampling music and making beats," said Rollins, who plays the piano and writes his own melodies. He recently has been learning how to play a voice box, an effects device that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument."

 

"I'm interested in working in the music industry, as a producer, engineer or an artist."

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