Craig Engels (born May 1, 1994) is an American middle-distance runner. He competed for the United States at the

2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The 2013 Pan American Junior Championships was held at the Estadio Alfonso Galvis Duque in Medellín, Colombia, from 23 to 25 August. The competition was originally scheduled for 2–4 August in Lima, Peru. Lima was ruled out as the host and the ...

, where he won the men's 1500 meters. In the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Engels was focused on making the semi-finals of the 800m and was listed as an alternate for the 1500m. He finished 4th in the 800m final and 5th in the 1500m final, missing out on the Olympics in both events.

Running career

High school

Engels attended Ronald W. Reagan High School in

Pfafftown, North Carolina Pfafftown ( Pfafftown Pronunciation
(forvo)) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Nor ...

, until he graduated in 2012. In addition to running cross country and track, he played for his school's soccer team and was a member of the Earth Club at his school. By the time he graduated from Reagan in 2012, he had set his school's records in the 800 meters, mile, and 3200 meters. His best high school mile time was recorded at the 2012

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Dream Mile, where he ran 4:03.96, which as of 2017 is the state high school record mile time for North Carolina. Throughout high school, Engels was coached by RunCCG coach, Chris Catton.

Collegiate

Engels first attended

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

with an athletic scholarship. During his freshman year, he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

and experienced chronic injury problems. In the summer after his freshman year, he traveled with the US junior national team to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

to compete at the

, where he won the 1500 meters. Just four months after this, during winter break, Engels decided to terminate his enrollment at NC State. He considered stopping competitive running altogether, but was urged by his high school coach, Chris Catton, not to quit. During his winter of uncertainty, he sent gifts individually to his teammates at NC State as a sign of goodbye, and also bought a used

recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and ca ...

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, which broke down immediately after purchase. By early 2014, with some persuasion from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

coach Ryan Vanhoy, who had tried to recruit Engels out of high school two years earlier, Engels transferred to

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. During the 2015 indoor season Engels debuted for

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

at the Auburn Invitational, placing third in the mile in 4:05.51. Engels also set a new personal best of 4:01.19 at the Husky Classic for 12th place. Engels ran the 1600m leg of the Rebel's SEC championship

Distance Medley Relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event ...

while also finishing runner-up in the mile event at the

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in 4:03.76. During the 2015 outdoor season Engels made his outdoor Rebel debut at the Border Clash in the 800m, finishing second with a time of 1:48.27. He also made his 1500m

Rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

debut at the Virginia Challenge, breaking the school record with a time of 3:40.28. Engels raced to a personal-best 800m time of 1:46.13 at the LSU Invitational, which left him ranked No. 2 all time in school history. Engels finished 10th at the

in the 5000m in a Personal-best time of 14:20.27 which was followed up with a third-place finish in the 1500m with a time of 3:45.37. After finishing third in the NCAA East Prelims with a time of 1:47.16, Engels went on to finish 10th at the

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

with a time of 1:47.33, the eighth-fastest time of the semifinals and .04 seconds from advancing which earned him Second team All-America honors. During the 2015 NCAA Cross Country season, Engels placed second on the team and 16th overall at the

with an 8K time of 24:00.00, followed by a 15th-place finish in the 9.725 Kilometer Race at the NCAA South Region Championships with a time of 31:09.2, earning All-Region honors. In the last race of the season Engels Finished 160th overall at the

with a 10K time of 31:31.7 During the 2016 indoor season Engels ran the 800m leg of the fourth-place DMR team at the Penn State National that set a school record with a time of 9:30.48, followed by a fifth-place finish in the 800m at the Penn State National with an indoor personal-best time of 1:47.75. He finished seventh in the 800m at the

with a time of 1:49.86, earning All-SEC First Team honors. Engels ran the 800m leg of the SEC Champion DMR team that won the third-straight DMR crown for

at the

. He then ran the 800m leg for the Ole Miss DMR team that placed third at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, earning First Team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. Engels began the 2016 outdoor season strongly, finished first overall in the 800m at the Texas Invitational with a time of 1:47.17 and a second-place finish in the 800m at the

Payton Jordan Invitational Payton may refer to: *Payton (given name) * Payton (surname) * 85386 Payton, main-belt minor planet See also *Peyton (disambiguation) Peyton may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Peyton (name), a list of people and fictional c ...

with a time of 1:47.06. He then set a school record with a second-place finish in the 1500m at the Florida Relays with a time of 3:38.82, which was the third fastest time in the NCAA in 2016. With a first-place finish in a time of 3:50.71 Engels became the first Ole' Miss man to win a SEC crown in the 1500m Run. Engels would finish 11th in the 1500m at the NCAA East Prelims (3:44.19) to qualify for the

, where he placed an impressive 7th in a time of 3:43.23, earning First Team All-America honors. During the 2016 Olympic Trials Engels finished 4th and 5th in the 800m and 1500m finals while setting a personal best time of 1:46.03 in the 800m and 3:37.66 in the 1500m, which set a new

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

school record.

Professional

In July 2017, Engels joined the Nike Oregon Project to be coached by Pete Julian and left

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis. A college town, Oxford ...

for

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Engels planned to be coached by Pete Julian, instead of

Alberto Salazar Alberto Salazar (born August 7, 1958) is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, where ...

, the latter whom Engels had inadvertently introduced himself to at the 2013 USATF Outdoor Championships. Engels states his reasoning for joining the Oregon Project as largely the result of Ryan Vanhoy's (Engels coach at Ole Miss) advice and because they had the coolest gear. Vanhoy himself had briefly coached NOP Member

Eric Jenkins Eric Jenkins (born November 24, 1991) is a retired long-distance runner. In college, he ran for Northeastern University, before transferring to the University of Oregon after his junior year. At the University of Oregon, Jenkins was a two-time N ...

while at Northeastern. While Engels could have joined NOP during the USATF Championships, he decided to wait until he was able to make an official visit to Portland and meet all the major players. After officially joining the Nike Oregon Project, Engels raced the Sir Walter Miler, where he finished a close second in 3:57.67 to former high school standout and professional Adidas athlete Drew Hunter's 3:57.32 efforts for first. This marks Engels first official time under 4:00 minutes in the mile, although his 3:35 1500m mark converts to a 3:53 mile. During the 2018 indoor season, Engels knocked nearly four seconds off his mile personal best at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University, finishing in 3:53.93. Engel's time was fast enough to qualify for the USATF Indoor Championships in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. At the USATF Indoor Championships, Engels finished third behind

Ben Blankenship Ben Blankenship (born December 15, 1988) is an American middle distance runner. He is a world record holder as a member of the 2015 USA Distance medley relay team, of which he ran the 1600-meter anchor leg. Running career Elementary school Bl ...

and

Paul Chelimo Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo (born October 27, 1990) is a Kenyan born American track and field athlete. He is the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist in the 5000 meters and is known for his success at the highest level o ...

, the former not having run the qualifying time for the IAAF Indoor Championships. Because of this, Engels made his first world championships team, where he finished 7th in the finals in 3:58.92, only .73 seconds behind World Indoor Champion

Samuel Tefera Samuel Tefera Name (born 23 October 1999) is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner who specialises in the 1500 metres. At the age of 18, he became the 2018 World indoor champion, and defended his title at the 2022 World Indoor Championships, sett ...

. On July 28, 2019 Engels won the 1500m final at the 2019 USATF Outdoor Championships. Engels ran a 3:44.93, beating out 2016 Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz by 0.04 seconds in a tactical race which displayed the advantage of commanding the race from the front in lane 1. On September 6, 2019 Engels finished 5th in the 1500 at the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

final in

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running a PR of 3:34.04. His time was under the Olympic Standard (3:35.00). Engels finished 10th in the

IAAF World Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

1500 final in

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on October 6, 2019. He faded out of medal contention in the last 600 meters but still ran 3:34.24, just .20 off his personal best. The race was won by Kenya's

Timothy Cheruiyot Timothy Cheruiyot (born 20 November 1995) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specialising in the 1500 metres. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the event and the 11th fastest athlete all time over the distance. At the World Athle ...

in 3:29.26, who led gun to wire in one of the fastest World Championships 1500s in history. During the 2021 Olympic Trials, Engels finished 4th in the 1500m final at Eugene, Oregon. Engels qualified for the 2024 US Olympic Trials in the 1500m. He finished in ninth place.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engels, Craig 1994 births Living people Track and field athletes from North Carolina NC State Wolfpack men's track and field athletes NC State Wolfpack men's cross country runners Ole Miss Rebels men's track and field athletes Ole Miss Rebels men's cross country runners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners