Flagstaff resident Craig Hunt will be the first coach for Coconino Community College’s cross country running program set to begin this fall. Courtesy photo.
FLAGSTAFF — Coconino Community College has hired Flagstaff resident Craig Hunt to be the first coach for the college’s cross country running program, which is slated to begin its first season this fall.
“I’d like to thank Tony Williams and everyone who has helped create the cross country programs at CCC,” Hunt said. “This is an exciting time for CCC and the Flagstaff community, and I am thrilled to lead the way as the inaugural cross country coach.”
Hunt also said that he shares a vision with CCC to build the program into a future national contender, and he plans to be an instrumental part in that vision.
“When we started this process, I really wanted to find a coach who not only wanted the challenge of starting a cross country program from scratch, but who also had a vision of it becoming an all-academic program as well,” said Tony Williams, CCC’s Dean of Student Affairs and Athletic Director. “Coach Hunt’s vision is to cultivate a team-oriented learning environment for our student athletes that will inspire them to grow as leaders in the classroom, in the community and in competition.”
Williams added that Hunt truly believes in and aspires to build a running culture at CCC, where students act and respond to their roles as student athletes with integrity and resilience and communicate with honesty, dignity and respect.
Hunt began his coaching career in 2014 at Grand Canyon University, where he helped produce 58 top-10, all-time school performances, four school records, three All-Western Athletic Conference Honorees, 19 All-WAC Academic Student Athletes, and the 2014-15 WAC Indoor Track and Field Champions. From 2015-17, Hunt served as the Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Western State Colorado University. During his time at Western State, he was instrumental in developing some of the nation’s top performances, including four individual national titles, two national records, 26 All-Americans, 19 Academic All-Americans, five top-10 national team finishes, and the 2017 men’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Team Champions. Hunt also helped manage program fundraising, academic success, recruiting and meet directing.
Hunt then took his coaching to the University of Illinois, where he helped restructure the men’s and women’s teams into one program. During the 2017-18 season, Hunt assisted in coaching the men’s Midwest Region Individual Cross Country Champion, one All-American, four National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Qualifiers, and the first sub-4 miler in the history of the University of Illinois.
Most recently, Hunt works as the lead Physio Trainer at The Physio Shop in Flagstaff, training people of all skill levels and abilities to meet their specific fitness goals.
Hunt graduated in 2014 from Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in Physical and Health Education. During his time at CCSU, he led his cross country and track and field teams to five Northeast Conference team titles, won six individual conference championships and qualified for two NCAA National Championships. He also has finished 10th at the 2019 50-kilometer World Championships and 45th at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
For more information about and to support the CCC Cross Country program, visit https://www.coconino.edu/cross-country-comets . To contact Williams or Hunt, email athletics@coconino.edu
About Coconino Community College — CCC has served residents across 18,000 square miles of Coconino County since 1991. The College has the goal of improving the lives of our residents through workforce development and higher education.
CCC provides affordable tuition and offers certificate programs and two-year associate degrees in academic and career fields. CCC also has programs that ease student transition to any of the three state universities, including the award-winning CCC2NAU.
CCC reaches out to the more rural portions of the County and Tribal Lands. Instructional sites offer classes through online, in-person and Zoom video conferencing classes to meet the needs of students in rural and remote areas. Nearly 20 percent of CCC’s students are Native American learners.