Catching Up With Stan Craig '23

12/31/2023

He was sure, he thought, but in the back of his mind, he had lingering doubts.

Is Amherst really where I want to spend the next four years? Stan Craig wondered as the day he would head off to Central Massachusetts grew near. The academics are great. That’s a given. Competing as a distance runner at the highest level of Division III is just what I’ve been looking for. So is the opportunity to meet new people and be part of a diverse, international community. All the ingredients are there.

Still…

“I actually wasn’t confident with my choice,” said the 2023 Collegiate graduate who excelled both on the cross country course and track for the Cougars. “My choice was based off what I knew about the school. It has many strong departments that I enjoy like math and science. The curriculum has many options. Any class you pick will have a good professor. That’s why I wanted to go there.

“But I’d only met two teammates, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Honestly, I was just curious about figuring out what was best for me and seeing if it would work and, if it didn’t work, figuring out something else. So there was curiosity, excitement, and trepidation.”

What Craig determined was that his college selection was spot on. His first semester went very well both in the classroom and on the hills and trails of the scenic venues where he competed. He held his own in cross country, increased his weekly training regimen from 35 miles as a high school senior to the mid-50s, and qualified for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship, where he finished ninth for the Mammoths. By virtue of his place on the team, he traveled to the regionals and nationals as an alternate, which to him only enhanced and enriched the experience although he wasn’t among the top seven runners who toed the line.

One day during his holiday break, Craig sat on a bench on the front porch of the Jacobs Gym and spoke of his journey.

How long did it take you to figure out that Amherst was your home away from home?

Pretty quickly. The start of freshman year, for anybody, is a completely new environment, new people, not having your old friends around. The first week was hard because you have to get used to not being with those people, but I was confident that I’d be able to form connections with new people. The team environment that I came into was very welcoming. Within a few days, I fit into the team culture. That was very rewarding and gave me a home automatically even when I wasn’t quite there yet with the school itself and meeting new people outside the team.

How did Collegiate prepare you for college?

I was ready in most respects. Honestly, I don’t think I realized how well Collegiate prepares us until I was in classes. Once I was, I had real gratitude for what Collegiate had given me. Writing and time management are two strong examples. Also the sense of not letting school control you and knowing when it’s good for your mental health to take a break. Our team culture is very good with that too as far as working very hard but knowing when it’s OK to rest and have time off.

It sounds like you found a team environment like Collegiate’s.

In the best ways it is very similar to the team here at Collegiate. In 8th grade and freshman year at Collegiate, the older guys really helped take me out of my shell and got me excited about being more socially and physically active. At Amherst, that’s the status quo. The grind is a common aspect of the sport, but we’re ready and excited to do that.

Speak about the enhanced expectations of college cross country.

It’s been exciting. It’s exciting just knowing the purpose we have is to work hard. That’s a trust. Coaches expect us to do a lot of hard work. We have a team culture where that’s the norm. A message we got last week from our track coach about the expectations over winter break is to do all the [prescribed] workouts, all the lifts, all the stretching. It excites me knowing that everyone on the team is working to get better.

You were Collegiate’s top distance runner and one of the best in the state. Speak about the change in roles.

It’s been exciting not to be the top guy and to have something to work towards and to push other people. I was just below our top squad for regionals and nationals, and although it stung a bit to be only a few seconds behind that group, it was also a great opportunity to continue to train with them and help those guys who were still competing and [enhance] morale and show them that the rest of the team wanted them to do well for them and for us.

Your fastest high school 5K was 15:26 at Pole Green Park. How did your college times compare?

In Division III, our races are 8K. My fastest was 25:56 in our first 8K at Wesleyan College. My next four 8Ks were very close to that. In the NESCAC, I ran 26:33 on our course at Amherst. I’m probably the proudest of that meet than any others I’ve run. I was a little bit sick with bronchitis. It was very hot. I don’t think I’ve given a race more effort in my life. Given the [degree of difficulty of the] course, I was very happy with that race, but I wouldn’t have been very happy if I was totally fine. That’s not an excuse. It made the effort feel that much more profound.

What’s the plan for events for the indoor track season?

I want to give a good try to all three [distance] events (mile, 3K, and 5K) and see where I can do the best and where I can fit in best on the team. Right now, that’s probably the mile.

You shared that you went to Amherst with some trepidation, but you found a school you enjoy as well as like-minded teammates. Sounds like the future is bright.

Yes. In cross country, we had a very young team with only two upperclassmen in the top 12. We have a very strong future. I’m very excited to see what I can do, but also what the team can do.

~Weldon Bradshaw

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