Ryan Hunter Blazes Historic Trail to the NAIA Cross Country Championship

Danny Kambel, Contributing Writer

Steven Strange II, Student Intern

Ryan Hunter’s legs burned as he crossed the finish line in 72nd place among 320 of the nation’s best runners—but the Spartanburg Methodist College junior was already making history.

The junior from Inman became the first male runner to represent SMC at the NAIA national meet in the College’s second season at the higher level. He finished the 8K run in 25:37.2, a little more than a minute behind the winner, on the hot course in Tallahassee, Florida. Hunter had locked himself into the nationals by finishing eighth at the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship.

“What an experience. It was incredible being able to represent SMC next to all those other great runners,” Hunter said. “I’m proud of myself, and it means a lot to be the first runner in school history to make it to (NAIA) nationals.”

First-year Assistant Coach Michael Johannes has seen Hunter’s growth over the course of the season and expected him to have a good run at the national meet.

“I figured he would go out and race aggressively against a competitive field,” Johannes said. “As newcomers to the NAIA (and AAC), I’m not sure anyone expected us to be at nationals, so the fact that we were and Ryan competed as well as he did bodes well for the future of this program.”

Hunter’s path to becoming a national qualifier is anything but typical. For most of his life, basketball point guard was his athletic identity—until a simple decision back in high school changed everything. He had to take up another sport to continue his weight training at school after the basketball season ended.

“I’ve been playing basketball my whole life, and I loved it,” he said. “Once the season ended, I chose to run cross country my senior year so I could stay in weightlifting class. Cross country ended up being a lot of fun, so I chose to come to SMC to keep running.”

That “fun” quickly evolved into a full commitment. The leap from his sophomore to junior season at SMC showcased one of the conference’s biggest transformations as he shaved almost three and a half minutes off his personal best from one season to the next. He worked hard over the summer to earn that improvement.

“I sacrificed a lot of other things in my life to get to this point,” Hunter shared. “I’ve just been running more than I ever have before—spending hours each day taking care of my body and eating healthy, which has been the hardest part. I’ve been dedicating my life to this year, and I’m thrilled with the results I’ve had.”

Hunter increased his training regimen, forgoing a summer job and spending less time going out with friends, to improve his performance. Johannes said he witnessed Hunter get faster and mentally stronger.

“Over the season, I think I’ve seen him settle into his place as one of the top runners in our conference,” he said. “In August and early September, I’m not sure he was used to running as fast as he was or being a front runner. It’s a new thing being at the top, but I think he’s gotten more comfortable with it and gained confidence.”

Hunter credits his coaches—Johannes and Head Coach Jannai Maxwell—for creating an environment where he could thrive.

“They’re really great coaches,” he said. “They’re a lot of fun, and I like that there’s not a lot of stress. That helps me perform my best—just being able to run without worrying about underperforming.”