Mount Olive, N.C. - Senior runner Adam Craig of the University of Mount Olive's men's cross country/track & field teams has been named the Conference Carolinas Male Athlete of the Year for 2017-18, as announced by the Conference announced today.
A native of Lauder, Scotland, Craig picked up a number of honors and awards throughout the 2017-18 cross country and track & field season.
He ended the cross country season with his second All-American title in the sport with a 10th place individual finish at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. Prior to reaching nationals, Craig helped the Trojans claim the Conference Carolinas and Southeast Regional titles, the 6th and 3rd consecutive titles respectively for the Mount Olive men's cross country team. He also earned spots on the first-team All-Conference Carolinas and the USTFCCCA All-Region teams.
Craig helped lead Mount Olive to their second-consecutive Indoor Conference Carolinas Track & Field Championship and third of the last four seasons. Craig won the conference title in the 5000m run and earned all-region laurels in the mile, 3000m, 5000m and distance medley relay. At the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships, Craig earned All-American status twice, one for a 6th place finish in the 3000m race and the other for a 10th place mark in the distance medley relay with teammates Jonathan Dahlke, Johnny Middlebrooks, and Tedric Shannon.
Completing the 'Triple Crown' for the second year in a row, Craig helped UMO win the outdoor track & field conference championship. He earned the individual conference championship in the 1500m race and took third in the 800m. Craig added to his list of honors earning all-region status in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m events. At the 2018 track & field national championships, he collected his fourth and fifth All-American awards with a 5th place finish in the 5000m and 10th place mark in the 10,000m races.
Craig graduated with a degree in exercise science and is continuing his running career overseas in the United Kingdom.
Craig joins the company of Jason Sherrer, assistant UMO baseball coach and 2007-08 winner of the Conference Carolinas Male Athlete of the Year award, Carter Capps, a Trojan baseball alumni who plays professionally with the San Diego Padres and the 2010-11 award winner, and Bradon Reitano, a baseball alumni and the 2013-14 Conference Carolinas Male Athlete of the Year.