FEATURE: UMO's Craig, Hanle set new standard for cross country

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on November 27, 2016 8:45 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- An identical finish started in different directions for Adam Craig and Leah Hanle.

And neither envisioned the eventual result -- All-American.

The two University of Mount Olive cross country runners achieved that status during the season-ending NCAA Division II Championship meet contested in St. Leo, Fla. Craig took 36th overall in the men's 10k (10,000 meters) race. Hanle crossed the line 25th during the women's 6k event.

Runners had to finish among the top 40 earn All-American status.

"It was a different kind of race because I was out alone in the (Southeast) regional race and (at nationals) I was surrounded by people in front of me and behind that were constantly pushing me," said Hanle, a freshman who hails from Lichtenstein, Germany.

"It's an honor to be an All-American."

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Scholarbook, an organization in Germany, promoted Hanle through its website. The publicity generated numerous emails from different universities, and UMO stood out when Hanle learned that a runner from Germany had been in the program.

The two wrote each other.

After several discussions, Hanle chose to attend UMO.

Two weeks later, she second-guessed her decision while she struggled through training.

"I thought 'hmmm, if the whole year is like this, and I have to struggle with the miles and my legs, I don't know if I want to do it four years," Hanle said. "But after two weeks, I don't know why, there was a change -- I think in my head -- and everything worked. The races were good. That's not common that the first year works like this, so I heard.

"I'm really glad the program is made for me."

Indeed.

Hanle ended up 11th in her first-ever collegiate meet at the Furman Invitational. She followed that with a fourth-place finish at the Kutztown (Pa.) Invitational.

One month later, Hanle shattered the school record with a 17-minute, 37.5-second performance -- a runner-up finish in the Royal XC Challenge contested on the Queens University of Charlotte course. Chelsea Long held the previous mark (18:23) set during the 2011 Conference Carolinas Championship meet.

Coach Matt van Lierop met with Hanle.

"We didn't speak about the whole season," she said. "We went from race to race. Then we made a race plan. He said you can expect a good time and I was like, 'Oh, I didn't believe him really.'"

Her doubts soon changed.

Hanle emerged as the Conference Carolinas Runner- and Freshman-of-the-Year after winning the meet in 22:29.8. Brimming with confidence and relief, she claimed the Southeast Regional championship in 21:03.65.

When the NCAAs rolled around, her goal was to finish below the top 100. van Lierop said that maybe Hanle could push for All-American status. Again, she didn't share the same vision as her coach.

Through the 450-meter mark, she ran among the lead pack but fell to 22nd at the 1.3k mark.

"During the race someone was yelling '23, 23' and I thought All-American," Hanle said. "Now my name will be there always. It feels good."

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A stress fracture in his shin sidelined Craig for 3 1/2 months last season.

The resistance associated with deep-water training helped strengthen his legs. When he finally set foot on grass, he experienced some nervousness. The change of scenery, working with the trainers and participating on a new team took his mind off the pain.

But two meets haunted the Scotland native.

"For this year, definitely (the goal was) to improve on last year," Craig said. "Regionals last year I was sixth and that was a surprise considering how the season had gone. Last year was a bit disappointing for me at nationals. (I) wanted to get inside that top 100."

Craig placed second overall with the fourth-fastest 8k time (24:41.12) in UMO history during the Furman Invitational. He captured first place in the Kutztown (Pa.) Invitational and established a new school record (23.59.7) during a runner-up performance at the Queens XC Royal.

"That was a nice feeling, it was a hard race," Craig said. "You cross the line, completely drained, trying to catch your breath, then you look at the clock and it makes you feel a bit better and a bit of relief. Dylan (Lafond) is a good runner, so to take the record from him is an honor."

Like Hanle, van Lierop and Craig devised a race plan. The coach felt his junior could chase A-A accolades and a top-20 finish at nationals -- on a good day.

First things first.

Craig secured second overall behind teammate Pol Domenech at the Conference Carolinas Championships. Two weeks later, he seized the Southeast Regional title in 29:43.03.

One goal remained.

The hilly national championship course didn't allow runners to switch up and develop a rhythm, and forced them to change their stride -- as well as the pace. Craig started "ridiculously fast" and lost about 10 places during the middle of the race.

"Mentally, I was like 'oh man, I'm going backwards. I'm going to blow up,'" Craig said. "I just had to fight against it, tell myself 'no, you have training, just look at the season.' I heard someone shout 34th and that was the guy ahead of me, so I was still top 40, which is where I wanted to be.

"I just had to keep pushing, keep working hard. When I crossed the line, I was a little bit unsure of where I was, but one of my teammates said I was 36th."

Goal accomplished.

Craig had earned All-American status.

"That's a big thing, definitely," Craig said. "Like I said, some good runners have come through this school already and guys have achieved great things in cross country. To have my own little bit of history is kind of nice."