Samson Obwocha was one of the greatest distance runners in East Texas State history, winning four individual National Championships in his two-year Lion career. In his lone season with the Lion men's track and field team, Obwocha earned the 1985 Lone Star Conference Outstanding Male Track Athlete of the Year award, winning the LSC Championship in the 1,500-meters, the 5,000-meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Obwocha did not stop there as he made A&M-Commerce history at the 1985 NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships, becoming the first athlete in school history to win an NCAA Championship. He won the individual title in both the 1,500-meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase and also placed in the 5,000-meters, earning three NCAA All-America awards. His efforts helped lead the Lion men's track & field team to a runner-up finish overall at the championship meet. Obwocha continued his dominance during the 1985 cross country season, winning the NCAA Division II 10K Championship race by more than three seconds. His time atop the podium would not end there as Obwocha repeated as NCAA Division II Cross Country champion in 1986, this time winning the 10K race by five seconds. These are the only two National Championships in A&M-Commerce cross country history. More than 30 years after hanging up his collegiate cleats, Obwocha's best times in the 1,500-meters (3:43.35), the 5,000-meters (14:10.60) and the 3,000-meter steeplechase (8:14.17) still stand as school records. After his Lion career, Obwocha continued to race professionally.