Men's Cross Country | September 07, 2023

Unsure of his future. As a high school student-athlete, Riley Campbell was unsure if he would ever attend college, much less become a student-athlete at the collegiate level. 

A native of Charleston, S.C., the Fort Dorchester H.S. standout received a phone call from USC Aiken's previous cross country head coach to see if he would be interested in running in college. 

Until that point during his senior campaign, Campbell had not decided what he would do upon graduation. After thinking it over, he decided to pursue cross country at the Division II level while also becoming the first one in his immediate family to go to college.

USC Aiken brought the cross country program back after not having it as a sport in nearly 20 years. Campbell was one of eight student-athletes on the first team – and he was the lone freshman on the roster, which was a mix of students already on campus as well as one that was also on the soccer team.  

"I was excited to be at a college and have such a great experience," Campbell said. "With a new program in place, I was able to compete at a higher level than I had ever competed against while also being the top runner in every race."

Going into his sophomore season, Campbell was poised for a breakout campaign. After training hard after his first year, he unfortunately broke his patella while running mid-summer. Being down with an injury was tough but Campbell's rehab went well. He continued to push forward in order to get back into shape and build endurance.

He was unable to walk for six months and it turned into a year of rehabilitation in order to be back on the team. In all, the injury took a toll on Campbell. He was not back in top form after his sophomore campaign heading into his junior season.

Campbell's third year consisted of "getting back into shape while competing." 

"It was rough because I had no endurance and no running muscles because I couldn't walk just months earlier," Campbell said. "I was not back into shape for running or being consistent."

Glimpses of Campbell being back to form occurred during his fourth year as a Pacer. After a rigorous summer training regime, Campbell's times were better than he was as a freshman. 

Due to his injury and COVID-19, Campbell had two years of eligibility remaining. He decided after the 2022 season to come back for the 2023 campaign. 

"Being able to compete was still important to me now that I'm healthy," Campbell stated. "It also allowed me to look at various masters programs to pursue another degree."

Campbell is in the best shape of his collegiate career and he is hoping to be faster this year than he has been throughout his time as a Pacer.

"I want to run well but I also want to become a good leader," Campbell said. "There's really good team chemistry this year and I'm looking forward to seeing where we go from here."

Campbell was unsure of what he was going to do five years ago and now he is sure he will be running down a dream.