STILLWATER, Okla. – Coming off an NCAA Division I national title in the 1,500 meters at last weekend's track and field championships, Greene graduate and Oklahoma State junior Chad Noelle is taking a little break – for a day.

Noelle is still basking in the glow of what is believed the first NCAA Division I track and field title for a Chenango County athlete, and he'll test his wares this coming weekend in the USA Track and Field Championships.

"It just felt like I was in an incredible new stratosphere," Noelle said Monday night in describing the feeling of winning.

Noelle, a 2011 Greene High School graduate, was recruited by track and field power Oregon, and spent his first two seasons with the Ducks before transferring to Oklahoma State his junior year.

Some bad luck worked against Noelle last year, and he didn't qualify for nationals a year ago after tripping and falling in a national qualifying race.

Still, Noelle entered the 2015 outdoor season with high hopes and high expectations, and he didn't lose a race in the 1,500 meters all season.

"Everything went so well this year, and I had the confidence that I could win it," Noelle said of the 1,500 meters. "I had great training and no excuses this year, but having the confidence that I could do it and actually doing it are two different things."