KATE TZEFRONIS, Staff Writer—Adam Cromwell ’21 stands as an athlete who’s on not only the cross country team, but the track team as well.

Cromwell began running as a junior in high school; he used to play soccer and baseball but once he started running he felt like he was better at it, and wanted to keep doing it in college. Both sports have had an important impact on Cromwell and have challenged him in different ways. He views track as “more challenging physically” and feels that cross country “has challenged me more as a person”.

In addition to being on the cross country and track teams, Cromwell is also the music director for the Hilltoppers, an international studies fellow, and a member of the Beta fraternity. While it can be challenging, Cromwell manages to balance his busy schedule, and credits being an athlete with helping him “become a lot more versatile”.
“It’s really forced me to learn how to be on top of time management. It really forces you to prioritize your time well,” says Cromwell. “I think it prepares you for the real world better, where you have a lot more going on. It teaches you to prepare yourself for time management.”

When asked what his biggest accomplishment has been as a Denison athlete, Cromwell reflects on his finishing fourth overall in last year’s North Coast Athletic Conference Championship, a big deal for him since when he completed the race as a freshman, he finished 40th. Another accomplishment that Cromwell is proud of is when the track team finished third in the inter conference meet. Although Cromwell himself wasn’t a part of the meet due to being abroad, it is an accomplishment he remembers, as it was the highest finish the team has had in ten years.

“Even though I wasn’t there it was cool to see how far the team had come” says Cromwell.

Like all athletes, Cromwell has been affected by COVID-19. While he still prioritizes cross country and the team, he finds it hard at times to stay motivated without competition. As a senior, he feels a bit robbed of a full senior year of experience, yet feels lucky that he is able to be on campus, and appreciates the time he is able to spend with his roommates and his team.

“I think also as students here at Denison, we’re lucky to be here,” says Cromwell. “And there have been people who have been affected a lot more than we have.”