Three UNC Greensboro track and field athletes are making their marks on the UNCG Athletic history books after a successful (and fast) 2023 season.
Elijah Jones ’23, and Joseph Thoma ’23 each hold records in the 200-meter and one-mile events respectively, while Dylan Christopher ’22 is the first UNCG men’s track and field athlete to win back-to-back Southern Conference (SoCon) championships.
BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPION
Christopher, a graduate student studying nutrition, is now the first two-time(SoCon) champion on the men’s side – winning the 10K in 2022 and 2023. Ashley Schnell ’12 was the first Spartan to win SoCon individual championships consecutively in 2011 and 2012 in the 1,500-meter run during the outdoor season. When Christopher crossed the finished line with a time of 31:36:09 in May, he says he wasn’t even aware of the accomplishment.
“I had no clue. I thought somebody had done it before,” he says. “Going into the race, I knew it would be cool to win back-to-back. It feels very rewarding.”
Last year, Christopher won the 10,000-meter run with a time of 30:48.12, picking up the Spartans’ first outdoor title since two-time Olympian Paul Chelimo ’14 claimed the 1,500-meter run at the 2012 SoCon outdoor meet.
“It made me happy when I found out because I could lose a university record, but I can’t lose this accomplishment.” says Christopher. “Records are meant to be broken, but it’s great to get a win and show some of the younger runners on the team that we can fight against the bigger teams.”
The 2023 season was Christopher’s last and he says winning the SoCon title again was the perfect cap on his athletic career.
“The biggest two lessons I learned with school and running in general is consistency and accepting that the best outcome isn’t always going to be the case,” he says. “Just build a mentality around showing up every day. You can apply that to anything in life, not just running. I wouldn’t have learned that if I didn’t go to UNCG.”
HARD WORK AHEAD
Elijah Jones ran track in high school but didn’t start competing in college until his senior year.
“I just tried to keep myself active, but it was hard,” Jones says. “I was used to the flow of being an athlete. Coming out of high school and not being able to do anything, it changed me.”
Jones knew he had his work cut out for him – but he was determined to make a mark with his collegiate career.
“I knew where I was at in high school and it wasn’t going to be the same, so it was going to be a lot of hard work,” he says. “I was taking practices seriously, doing a little extra time on my own, and doing my best at every meet to decrease my time.”
TURNING ON THE BURNERS
His hard work paid off. Jones, who graduated with a degree in kinesiology and a minor in sports coaching, broke the men’s 200m record at the Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic in Lynchburg, Virginia. He ran the race in 22.99-seconds, breaking a four-year old record of 23.26-seconds set by Daniel Rust ’22 in 2019.
“I came out of my blocks hard, gave it everything I had and just turned on the burners all the way across the finish line,” Jones says.
The Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic was one for the books. Not only did Jones break a record, but so did Joseph Thoma ‘23, who earned his bachelor of science degree in marketing. He finished the one-mile race in 4:05:91, breaking the UNCG men’s record previously held by Paul Chelimo.
“Dylan, Joe, and Elijah have represented the values of this team and UNCG to the highest degree,” says track and field coach Kaleigh Roach. “I remember meeting each one for the first time, all different circumstances, but they shared with me their goals and dreams. As a coach, having the opportunity to walk alongside them in that journey and have a front row seat to watch them make history for this program has been something I’ll never take for granted.”
HELP STUDENT-ATHLETES WIN
Story by Avery Craine Powell, University Communications
Photography by Todd Drexler, SESPORTSMEDIA.COM and Denise Archetto, UNCG Athletics
