There’s no secret that the Crawfordsville distance program has been dominant over the years. At the forefront of that success has been Megan Craig. The Athenians in Craig’s 10 years at the of the cross country program, the Athenian girls have captured three Sagamore Conference titles (‘16, ‘17 and ‘19) while the boys have also claimed three SAC titles (‘18, ‘19 and ‘23). CHS has dominated the county race as well with the Athenians being the top team in the county for many years.
This Fall will be Craig’s last with Crawfordsville as she’s moving on from coaching after a decade of success. With it being her last season, Craig and the Athenians are making the most out of the season’s final weeks. Cville will race at the Sectional Saturday morning and the boys have high aspirations of advancing as a team and continuing their season while the girls are looking to cap it off on a high note.
Regardless of the outcome there’s been countless parents and Athenians alike who have made sure to tell Craig how important she’s been to the program. Crawfordsville Athletic Director Bryce Barton gave his praise to Craig on what’s been an outstanding run.
“I remember Megan taking the cross country position several years ago with unbelievably high expectations for the program,” Barton said. “She has worked extremely hard over the years to recruit student athletes at a young age into her program and watch them develop over the years. Megan has learned so much about the technical training side of distance running over her tenure. She puts our runners in a position to be successful in championship meets. The runners trust her training programs and their hard work in the off-season and during the season has proven successful with conference championships, school records, and more importantly a life-long love for running. Megan’s team-first approach has impacted the program in so many ways. Our distance group works as hard as any program that CHS has. The student athletes support each other, enjoy being around each other, and have developed positive character traits that will carry over long past their high school athletic careers.”
Craig joyfully remembers her first interview with our very own Jeff Nelson when she took over the program. As Barton stated, she came in with high expectations and from day one she’s brought out the best in every single one of her runners.
“I was naive, young, and probably a little over confident when I started out,” Craig said. “I was sure we were going to be the best. I remember my first preseason interview with Jeff Nelson, I am fairly certain I told him we were going to win state. I believed that we could be great, that these athletes, this school could be successful if we continued to have that champion mindset.”
Craig’s championship mindset has stuck with one of the Athenians current runners. Senior Ryan Miller has remembers his first interaction with Craig all the back in fifth grade. It’s a relationship that has blossomed into not only seeing Miller succeed on the course, but has turned into what is now a life-long friendship between runner and coach.
“Coach Craig is the best coach I have ever had,” Miller said. Over the years she has stuck by our sides and kept us going. She put in more hours and more time into this program than anyone ever has or ever will. She is the reason so many of our runners have stuck with it and why we have such a positive and winning culture. She makes the sport fun and allows us as runners to grow in the sport but also grow as individuals. She holds her runners to a higher standard because she knows the limits we can reach and won’t allow us to settle for less.”
Over Craig’s decade long run at the helm of the Athenians, there’s been countless memories that have stood out to her including a few different SAC title runs.
“There will always be a reel in my mind of athletes running across the finish line, seeing their times and realizing that. “they did it.”, Craig said. Those are the goose-bump moments that aren’t always followed with a name on a record board or a trophy to accompany you home. But they are the moments that make all the long hours and the self doubt worth it. The highlights that went down on record are also amazing. Watching the girls team of Fry, Claycomb, Smith, Kellerman and Hurt win the conference in 2017 with a perfect score was amazing. The 2019 team of Fry, Biddle, Widmer, Smith and Greene shocked Lebanon and Western Boone when they came out of nowhere to take home the conference win.”
There’s been plenty of memories on the boys side as well.
“When the 2017 boys of Hutchison. Rich, Hayes, Pryor, Widmer, and Hernandez won sectionals and continued on to semi state, always stands out because of the grit of that young team. Seeing Devin Burris cross the finish line after sprinting to the finish to beat out north and take home the county title with a perfect score was one of the best comeback stories I have watched. That same team of Burris, Widmer, Stewart, Hernandez, Hayes and Hutchison went on to have a successful season and were shy of a team return to semi state by 1 point in regionals. Last season when Brummet, Fuller, Miller and Contreras broke the 4 x 800 school record that they had fallen short of the season before was thrilling, Having the opportunity to coach both of my children will be a cherished memory. One of the best team experiences was just weeks ago at the conference meet when the entire team was cheering like we had won state for Chang who was crushing his PR by 3 minutes. Seeing athletes overjoyed for someone else’s success in that way isn’t always present and when it is, it’s unforgettable.”
In her 10 years, Craig has left a legacy with the Athenians. One that will be certainly hard to replicate for whoever takes over the program. Nonetheless Craig made sure that she thanked everyone for making this journey one that she’ll never forget.
“You always hope you do leave a legacy wherever you go,” Craig said. “I took this leap to the next level because of the courage these athletes instilled in me. They showed me it’s ok to be uncomfortable, that we grow and change in that discomfort. They taught me that even if we fail we get back up and we step back to the line. I may never know the impact I had on the program or what legacy I left, but I will always know the impact every runner has had in my life over this 10 year journey and for that I am forever grateful. Thank you Athenian XC runners, families and friends that became family for helping make this program what it is today.”
Craig and the Athenian XC team will compete at the Harrison Sectional beginning at 10:30 when the boys get underway. The girls will follow at 11:15. The top five teams and top 15 individuals from non advancing teams will qualify for next week’s Regional in Brownsburg.
