HATTIESBURG — Robert Wells Jr. had an inkling good things were in store for him at the 2016 Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Championships this past week.

It turns out it was more than in inkling.

The former Jefferson County High School product set a University of Southern Mississippi school record in the 200-meter dash, and served as a member on the record-breaking 4×400 relay team at the conference championships in Birmingham, Ala.

“It was just exciting,” Wells said. “Coming in, we weren’t supposed to win. (Wednesday) morning I woke up and I said to myself, ‘Today is a good day, and I’m going to make something happen.’ The hard work started paying off in the end.”

Wells’ 21.60 mark in the 200 broke a record he’d previously set.

Additionally, Wells served as the third leg in the 4×400, which recorded a time of 3:13.56, in helping lift the relay team to a first-place finish in the event.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Wells said. “I’m just so excited about it … I thought it about, and if this is my last indoor season at Southern Miss, then I want to go out with a bang.”

Wells attributed his success in the 200 primarily to his physical, 6-foot-1 stature combined with his ability to cover plenty of ground in a short amount of time.

“I think it’s my best event because of my size,” he said. “I’ve got long strides. In the 60 (meters), I tend to get off to bad starts, but I’ve gotten better over the years. In the 200, I can pace myself through 50 meters, then at the 150 mark, I just give it everything I have.”

While Wells said he reached this peak of his career thanks in part to a grinding work ethic, the former JCHS Tiger was quick to note a strong support system also helped him along the way.

Wells credited his mother, Brenda Ellis, and stepmother, Mytris Doss, in helping mold and motivate him into the person he is today.

It’s the words of his late stepmother, who died last summer, that continue to resonate with Wells when he needs a little extra motivation.

“She always told me if I keep God first, then He will take me wherever I want to go,” Wells said. “It keeps me motivated. When I get tired at practice, I get extra energy from her.”

It’s that motivation that’s translated into molding the next class of the Golden Eagles track squad, doing his part as an upperclassman.

“You have young guys and they’re scared and nervous,” Wells said. “But I just tell them, ‘With all the hard work you put in the fall, that’s (practice time) the hardest part. All the extra running, all the extra weight-lifting, so when you get to the track, it should be easy. Practice is the hardest part.”

Yet the work is not yet complete as Wells and the rest of his Southern Miss teammates look ahead to the outdoor season, eager to continue their championship trend.

Wells noted he is particularly excited about the team’s third slated meet of the outdoor seaon April 1 at Mississippi College, where his mom and biggest supporters will be able to attend.

“That’s like a home-town meet,” Wells said. “My family and my friends will be able to be there. I feel like I’m comfortable there; I’ve run there before, and I feel like it will be homecoming.”

Despite being listed as a junior on the program’s roster, Wells intends to graduate early and enter graduate school to further his education and remain on the indoor squad for one more season.

Wells said he plans to study physical education in post-graduate studies and is looking forward to perhaps breaking more school records.

“We’re going to work hard, grind and get better,” Wells said. “We’re going to learn from our mistakes and try to bring the success that we had from indoors to outdoors.”

Wells Jr. is the son of Robert Wells Sr.