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.