Crossley Tabbed American Conference Male Track Athlete of the Week
February 24, 2015 | Track & Field
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - East Carolina sophomore distance runner John Crossley earned his first-ever American Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week accolade after breaking the ECU school record at the Virginia Tech Challenge over the weekend. Although this is Crossley's first honor of his career, it marks the fourth time this season the Pirates have had a student-athlete selected.
Crossley broke the program record in the 600-meter run after earning a second-place finish with a personal-record time of 1:19.62. The Newport, N.C., native posted a time that was nearly a full second faster than the previous top time in ECU school history.
"We are extremely excited for John Crossley to receive this award," Head coach Curt Kraft said. "This award is a testimonial to all of the hard work he has put in up to this point. One of the reasons I am so proud of John is because he has stayed so focused on the future and hasn't looked back. He has had a great fall of training and has experienced some success during the indoor season."
In addition to his record-setting performance in the 600-meter, Crossley is also ranked fourth all-time in the indoor 800-meter run with a time of 1:52.32, as well as eighth in school history in the outdoor 800-meter run with a career-best time of 1:51.13.
Crossley earned the accolades along with Adrian Valles, a pole vaulter from Cincinnati, who was named Male Field Athlete of the Week, as well as Tulane's Emily-Kathryn Hoey (Women's Track Athlete of the Week) and Memphis' Carolina Carmichael (Women's Field Athlete of the Week).
"This honor could not have come at a better time," Kraft stated. "This will definitely create some confidence and enthusiasm going into this weekend's American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. This award is reassuring to John that hard work pays off."
East Carolina will compete in the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships this weekend in New York City beginning Friday, February 27 and concluding Saturday, February 28.
Players Mentioned
