Salute To Seniors: Precious Craig


Name: Precious Craig

School: Centennial High School

As a Senior, Centennial's Precious Craig achieved PRs of 12.44 for 100m and 17-06.5 for Long Jump. She is also a dual sport athlete, having competed in both Basketball and track. Precious capped of her high school track and field career with a 7th place finish in the 100 and 6th place in the Long Jump at the Division 2 State Championships. She also played a part in helping the 4x100 Relay team make the finals. This fall, Precious will go into prepharmacy at the University of Arizona Honors College.

Q: What was your most memorable race?

A: My most memorable race was my 100-meter dash preliminary run this year at state. It was the most memorable race because I was seeded last going into this race at state then I made finals.

Q: What was your greatest accomplishment?

A: My greatest accomplishment was leaving high school knowing I left everything on the track. I'm leaving behind 3 school records at Centennial in the 100, 200 and 4x1.

Q: If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?

A: The only thing I would have changed about my running career is not taking track as seriously as I could have at a younger age.

Q: What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?

A: The most difficult obstacle I had to overcome was definitely the injuries I faced my senior year. I hurt my shoulder playing basketball and missed the second half of my basketball season and it caused me to miss some of track by the time I got cleared. This got in the way of my conditioning because I was in shape at all coming into track season. When I finally felt like I was getting in shape I pulled my quad at the end of a race at the Peoria Invite. Because of this, I felt like I was never at 100 percent this season in terms of how I could have performed and being in track shape. 

Q: What will you miss the most about running for Centennial?

A: I will miss the support I had from my coaches and teachers.

Q: What advice would you give to younger athletes?

A: The best advice I would give to athletes is to always stay mentally prepared because track is such a mental sport.

Q: What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?

A: One of my track Coaches JC Davault has taught me not to give up. I definitely would not have made it to state without him, there were many occasions where I felt like quitting because of injuries but he always reminded me that there's a plan and purpose to everything.

Q: What are your college plans?

A: My college plans are to attend the University of Arizona's Honors College and study public health with a prepharmacy path.

Q: Who would you like to say 'thank you' to?

A: I would like to say thank you to God cuz he made everything possible. I would also like to thank all the positive teachers and coaches in my life Coach Bauer and Bourland, Dunham, Davault, Ybarra, and Coach V.