A little over a year ago, Terrell Smith was basking in the success of a nearly perfect finish to his high school career — state championships, state records, the Gatorade Mississippi Track and Field Athlete of the Year award.

That, however, is well behind him. Tonight, when he lines up in the starting blocks at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field, he’ll be chasing an even bigger prize.

Smith, the former Vicksburg High star who has gone on to set records at Kansas State this season, is one of 24 sprinters who will compete in the 200 meters at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

It’s a remarkable accomplishment for a freshman — Smith is one of only three in the event — and one he’s savoring.

“The feeling is extremely hard to explain. I’m grateful to be here and realize how big an accomplishment it is. I’m highly blessed,” Smith said. “People work all their life to get to this point.”

Smith set a Kansas State record in the 200 meters this season and will enter tonight’s semifinals with a seed time of 20.78 seconds. It’s fast, but likely not fast enough to win a national championship.

Smith’s time puts him 22nd out of 24 semifinalists. The top seed, Florida senior Dedric Dukes, has a seed time of 20.14 seconds. The difference of .64 seconds doesn’t seem like a lot to mere mortals, but on the track it translates to about 8 meters.

Not only making up that difference on Dukes, but surpassing the 20 other runners between them, might take more than even Smith has in the tank, he admitted. Therefore, making the final on Friday night is his primary goal.

The top two runners in each of three semifinal heats, plus the next two best times move on to the eight-man final.

“At this level, to make it to the finals is going to take a miracle. But every day, miracles are performed,” Smith said. “I’m going out there to make the finals. It’s good to get the experience, but I might not make it back. There’s no guarantees.”

For a long time, however, Smith winning on the track was as close to a sure thing as there was. He won back-to-back Class 5A titles in the 100 and 200 meters for Vicksburg High in 2014 and 2015, as well as the long jump title in 2015 and 200 meter titles in 2012 and 2013.

He signed with Kansas State and continued to impress. He set the school record in the 200 meters with a time of 20.51 seconds in the Big 12 Championships, and also ran the 100 meters in 10.35 seconds.

He’s ranked No. 3 in the country among freshmen in the 200 meters behind Florida State’s Kendal Williams and Tennessee’s Christian Coleman, both of whom are in the NCAA Championships field.

Despite that, he only won three of the 14 individual races he competed in this season. Making the adjustment from being the fastest guy at every meet, to chasing people down took some time to adjust to, he said.

“I had to get accustomed to running against guys at much higher levels than me. I had to relax more instead of stressing my body. It took me a minute to get used to that competition,” Smith said. “We’ve got an extremely hard conference. I know that in every race, I’m not getting last. I’m trying to get in the top three. The guys that are high are like royalty. You want to get up there with them.”

Smith’s performance at the Big 12 Championships qualified him in the 200 meters for the NCAA West Preliminary meet two weeks ago in Austin, Texas. He ran a time of 20.71 seconds to reach the final, then ran 20.78 seconds in the final. He had to sweat out his berth to the NCAA Championships.

The top three in each of six heats, plus the next six best times, advanced. Smith finished sixth in the fourth heat and had to make it on time — which he did by a tenth of a second. Two other runners had slower times but finished in the top three of their heat. Smith was the last qualifier for the NCAA Championships based on time.

“I was excited. I was full of energy. I wasn’t even tired,” Smith said with a laugh.

The berth sent him into a whole new world in Eugene.

Hayward Field is one of track and field’s most hallowed venues, the site of the NCAA Championships every year as well as the U.S. Olympic Trials and a number of other world class meets on a regular basis.

In mingling around the facility during practice this week, Smith has seen some old friends from his time on the AAU circuit as well as plenty of new faces that made him realize the stakes they’re all playing for this week.

“The atmosphere here is amazing. You have a lot of the best athletes in the nation in one area,” Smith said. “Everybody here is consistently good. People don’t get here by accident.”

Neither did Smith, and now it’s time to prove it.

The men’s semifinals for the 200 meters start tonight at 8:24. Smith will run in the second of three heats.

“When I step on the track, I know the adrenaline is going to be rushing,” he said. “I have to focus on my own race. You have to follow your own path or you’re going to lose. Everything is going to be right for me to run fast.”

How fast?

Smith didn’t want to — or couldn’t — put a number on it. He didn’t have a goal time, he said, but rather just wanted to make the final and go from there.

After that, he added, the goal is to get back to Eugene next year with an even better time.

“I want to come in as the No. 1 or No. 2 seed next year,” Smith said. “I want to accomplish my goals as quickly as possible so I can make new ones.”

On TV

Live coverage of the NCAA Track and Field Championships will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday on ESPNU. Kansas State sprinter Terrell Smith, a former Vicksburg High star, will run in the 200 meter semifinals at 8:24 p.m.