Birthday: 05/01/94 Mile PR: 3:51.60 - 2019
Metric Mile (1500m) PR: 3:33.64 - 2021
High School: Ronald Reagan HS '12
Hometown: Pfafftown, NC
College: University of Mississippi ’17 / transfer from North Carolina State
Current Residence: San Luis Obispo, CA
Craig Engels, in a rare 5000m race at the 2021 Texas Qualifier in Austin, won his heat, clocking a personal record of 13:36.91.In April, he finished runner-up at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships hosted by the Grand Blue Mile in 3:59.2. In May, Engels won the Portland Track Festival 1500m in 3:33.64, a PR, and in late June, he placed 4th in the Olympic Trials 1500m in 3:36.69.
At the 2020 BU John Thomas Terrier Classic indoor meet in Boston, the charismatic star won the Mile in 3:56.85.
In 2019, he earned the USA Indoor Mile title, breaking the beam in 3:59.69; his first national crown as a pro, and in late June, he finished 5th at the Pre Classic's Bowerman Mile, clocking a personal record 3:51.60. In July at the USA Outdoor Championships, Craig captured his first 1500m crown, beating defending and Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz, 3:44.93 to 3:44.97.
In August 2018, Engels defended his Aetna Falmouth Mile title, winning in 3:58.88.
In 2017, at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, the North Carolina native finished fourth in the 1500 meters just missing a Team USA berth for the London World Championships, and in August, he won the Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile in 4:00.19 and the inaugural Ed Murphey Mile, clocking 3:58.35, the first sub-4 ever in Memphis, Tennessee.
At the 2016 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Craig finished an impressive 4th in the 800 meters (a PR 1:46.03) and fifth in the 1500 meters (a then PR 3:37.66); again just missing Team USA spots.
The 6-time North Carolina high school state champion was a member of the North Carolina State track and cross country teams from 2012-14 before transferring to the University of Mississippi where he earned NCAA All-American honors 6 times.
Engels also won the 1500m gold medal (3:53.12) at the 2013 Pan American Junior Championships in Colombia.
FUN FACT: The free spirit is also known for his trademark mullet & mustache, owns a classic RV that he and his friends travel around the country and loves doing construction projects.
“I still love (running). It’s a really cool job, Obviously one day I’ll be done running. But not yet.”
From Winston-Salem Journal
For Craig Engels, 2021 was a year filled with miles and milestones.
The Pfafftown runner recently signed a new long-term contract with Nike, competed in the U.S....
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Markovc edges Schlachtenhaufen in women’s race; $28,500 awarded; Clare, Myles Liss-Riordan Tommy Cochary High School Mile champions
From Falmouth Road Race
FALMOUTH, Mass. – In the 25th running of the Falmouth Elite Mile on Saturday afternoon, six men went sub-4 minutes at the newly...
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"I was pretty bummed out there (at the Trials), so I came up with this little tour around America, doing Miles..."
By Eddie Wooten, Winston-Salem Journal
RALEIGH — Fast and accomplished as they are, eager as they were to toe the starting line and chase the ever-magical 4 minute Mile, the...
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Guaranteed prize purse of $25,000 plus time and record bonus money available
From Falmouth Road Race
FALMOUTH, Mass. - Falmouth Road Race, Inc., organizers of the Falmouth Elite Mile, an invitational Mile open to male sub-4:00 and female sub-4:40-minute Mile runners, have announced the fields...
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“I actually don’t know how many miles a week I’m running. I don’t care, just whatever my body is feeling.”
By Sarah Lorge Butler, Runner's World
Craig Engels burst onto the U.S. running scene in 2017, during his final year at the University of Mississippi. He was the athlete with the mullet...
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The USA Championship prize purse totals $15,000 and goes 10 deep with $3000 to each national champion
From USATF
DES MOINES, Iowa – USATF champions, World Championship qualifiers and an Olympic medalist headline Wednesday’s fields at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships presented by Toyota...
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Whoever shows up on the starting line at Hayward Field, rest assured the guys will put on a great show at the U.S. Olympic Trials
By Jeff Hollobaugh, Track & Field News
It's not outlandish to project that one of the most-anticipated events at June’s U.S. Olympic Trials will be the men’s 1500....
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"I do know I have to be ready for a 3:29 1500 if I want to be in medal contention at the Olympics. So we’ve been just mentally getting ready, doing a lot of workouts that are going to help with that.”
By Sieg Lindstrom, Track & Field News
You think you're pining for the U.S. Olympic Trials?...
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"You don’t have to 24 / 7 serious to be a U.S. champion. You have don’t have to make a choice."
By Ken Goe, The Oregonian / OregonLive
Coach Pete Julian remembers when Craig Engels first breezed into Julian’s group of elite distance runners within the Nike Oregon Project in 2017, smile spread...
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Third place finish by North Carolina native & U.S. champion doesn't damper meet-and-greet excitement
By Eddie Wooten, Winston-Salem Journal
He had just crossed the finish line, placing third in the Camel City Elite 800 meter race at JDL Fast Track. Craig Engels' time of 1 minute and 49.03...
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"If I’m going to do this sport, I want to enjoy my life and enjoy the people in the sport and everything about it.”
By Sarah Lorge Butler, Runner's World
An elite runner with a reputation as a fun-loving guy has had some serious matters to attend to during his offseason.
Since he finished...
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"I’d like to be remembered as someone who changed the sport for the better… but I would rather be remembered as a person who made the world a better place."
By David Jaewon, Tempo Journal
If you didn’t know who Craig Engels was, it would be hard to picture him as a professional runner, let...
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“It’s something I do before I go to bed every night, watch a few videos so I can dream about it or something."
By Sieg Lindstrom, Track & Field News
USATF 1500 champion Craig Engels has trained primed with motivation aplenty since the 2016 Olympic Trials. A 4th (800) and a 5th (1500) in the...
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“Craig’s a fun guy… obviously with his appearance, it’s not your typical middle distance, distance running personality. I think it’s great. He brings a different spin to the event and to the sport.”
By Lincoln Shryack, FloTrack
When Craig Engels was weighing his professional options coming...
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Loaded field at 20th edition features six men with sub-3:50 Mile PRs including American Johnny Gregorek
From Prefontaine Classic
STANFORD, Calif. - On Sunday, June 30 at Cobb Track & Angell Field, the world’s best Milers will bring their rivalry to the Prefontaine Classic for the meet’s...
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NIKE Oregon Project athlete returns to the birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll on Saturday evening to defend his Ed Murphey Memphis Mile title
By David Monico, Bring Back the Mile
Craig Engels has been described as a wanderer. He has displayed one of the best mullets (and mustaches) that you'll come...
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Connolly, Mariano victorious in Tommy Cochary High School Mile; $16,000 awarded in Open race
From Falmouth Road Race
FALMOUTH, Mass. – Three close finishes and a dominant victory by a local favorite highlighted the Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile and its companion Tommy Cochary High School Mile,...
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Deep international fields also includes Olympians, past men's event champions and rising stars; $15,000 guaranteed prize purse
From Falmouth Road Race
FALMOUTH, Mass. - Defending men's champion Craig Engels and Rachel Schneider, fresh off a gold medal performance, headline the fields for the...
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“There are marathons where you can win a ton of money, but this is the most I’ve ever seen for a Mile race.”
By Patrick Ferlise, Winston-Salem Journal
When former Reagan track star Craig Engels learned he would race today in the Camel City Elite for the first time in his career, the pro...
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Record prize money awarded exceeds $500,000, Blankenship & Lipari win BBTM Grand Prix Tour titles, one more U.S. HSer sub-4, the brothers Ingebrigtsen make history, greatest women’s Mile ever and more highlight year
By Ryan Lamppa, Bring Back the Mile
Since the Bring Back the Mile launch in...
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"And the crowd... it was like a Friday night football game. We're not really used to that.”
By John Varlas, USA TODAY Network
Nick Dwyer was the busiest man at the Christian Brothers High School track last Saturday. But when he got a chance to gather his wits and take a look around, he was...
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Griffin, Connolly capture boys & girls Tommy Cochary High School Mile titles
By Jon Mettus, Cape Cod Times
FALMOUTH -- On Saturday evening, it was the newcomers who came out on top at the Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile at Falmouth High School with Craig Engels picking up his first professional win...
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Craig Engels' famous hair-and-’stache combo in the running world has been chopped to benefit charity.
By Sarah Lorge Butler, Runner's World
Craig Engels has long turned heads for his fast running—and his flowing locks.
At the 2016 U.S. Olympic Track Trials, he was fourth in the 800 meters...
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When I pulled up on Matt Centrowitz, the defending gold medalist at the Olympics, I was like ‘OK, I got this.’
By Pat Price for Citius Mag
Craig Engels, the Ole Miss Miler with a mean mullet, recently signed a professional contract to join the Nike Oregon Project training group. He finished...
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Rising U.S. Mile star sports an attention-getting mustache and mullet combination: “I feel like if I can bring something different to the sport then common folk will get into it.”
By Que'Taurus Certion, The DM Online
Craig Engels finished his career as an Ole Miss Rebel track runner as a...
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By Mason Linker, Winston-Salem Journal
PFAFFTOWN, N.C. - Craig Engels of Reagan, who has become one the nation's top prep middle-distance runners over the past 18 months, will end his high school career Saturday in New York City.
He will be among 14 high-school-age runners invited to compete...
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