Milligan hosted its inaugural Eli Cramer Invitational on Friday, September 30 to celebrate the life of Eli Cramer, who was tragically killed during a pre-meet run last spring. Tusculum University, Lees McRae, and Montreat College were all in attendance to take part in the race. The scene contained loads of people surrounding Milligan’s famous running loop to cheer on the competitors. There were banners and signs all across the field reading “Live Like Eli” and “YMFR,” which stands for “Your Mom’s Favorite Runner,” on them. Those in attendance consisted of Milligan Alumni, students, faculty, and staff.
Milligan track and field athlete Eli Cramer was fatally struck by a motor vehicle on March 31, 2022. Cramer was loved by all of his teammates, classmates, and faculty he encountered. After that night, the track team dedicated the rest of their season to Eli.
In certain ways, Milligan is still recovering from the night Eli was taken from us, but the community had another layer of healing this past weekend.
Head Track and Field Coach Chris Layne and assistant Coach Natalia Rivas-Foster organized the event.
“We’ve hosted a few cross country meets in the past so when we discussed doing it again it was an easy decision to turn this into an event that honored Eli,” Coach Layne said. “Our student-athletes supported this idea and our staff worked really hard to make this happen. We are really thankful to everyone that came out to show support.”
The support and camaraderie of the cross country and track and field teams are something to be admired.
Coach Layne expressed his appreciation for the support the team had gotten over the past few months after Eli’s tragic passing.
“The cross country and track & field community has been absolutely amazing,” he said.“Other coaches, student-athletes from other programs, parents of student-athletes from other programs, professional athletes, you name it – the outreach played an incredible role in the healing process.”
The event overall was a success. Both the women’s and men’s cross country teams came home with wins, and the coaches along with all the student-athletes all came together to make the event special for Eli and his family. The coaching staff is planning to make this an annual event. It’s a special dedication to Eli and the coaching staff loves that the team can take a rest from their grueling traveling schedule and stay home for a meet.
“We’re really excited about both of our teams and definitely believe they belong in the national conversation again this season,” Coach Layne added
“But this league is so competitive at the top and there are so many things that impact our performance on the day, so we just continue to talk to our teams about controlling what we can control, and if we do that, the rest will play out.”
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams are set to defend their NAIA National Championship title from last year.
To stay updated on the rest of their season, be sure to visit https://milliganbuffs.com.
Photos by Natalia Rivas Foster