Brayden Curnutt ’25 finished one of the greatest Novembers in Wabash cross country history by earning All-American honors. At the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championships, the senior from Kokomo, Indiana, proved he was amongst the best cross country runners in the nation.
The meet was held on Saturday, November 23 at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. Three weeks after he began the month of November by winning the individual North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship, which came with the title of 2024 NCAC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year, and two weeks after a first-place finish at the 2024 Division III Great Lakes Regional, Curnutt was lined up for the biggest meet of his life.
For Curnutt, the goal was simple, even if it wasn’t easy. He wanted to be an All-American.
“ I don’t think I expected to finish as 18th-best runner in the country — definitely not in August,” said Curnutt. “As the season progressed, once we hit the pre-nationals meet in October, it really started to click — I could definitely go get it done.”
More than a thousand fans were gathered around the coils of the eight-kilometer course, creating an environment unlike any other in DIII cross country.
“That atmosphere was crazy,” said Curnutt. “That’s something that I’ve never witnessed. It was completely different from what I’ve experienced.”
Despite his incredible streak heading into the meet, Curnutt was stepping into the most competitive field of runners he had ever faced.
“I was pretty nervous — probably the most nervous I’ve been for a race in my time here,” said Curnutt. “But the race started out like I expected it to — kind of hot. And keeping my composure throughout the race, I had a mentality of, ‘I’ll have an opportunity to get that All-American title.’”
After the opening minutes of the race, Curnutt found himself outside of the top-40 mark: the cutoff for earning All-American honors.
“Braden was in 51st place 1,000 meters in, and running incredibly fast,” said Head Cross Country Coach Tyler McCreary. “A lot of really good runners, they’re not used to having hundreds of guys that are about as good as they are all jammed together in a pack, and they aren’t used to being in 50th place right away. A lot of guys, they’ll panic and fade at the national championship. So for Brayden to execute in the way he did in his first one — it was incredibly impressive. But it wasn’t surprising. He just raced how he would have raced all year.”
Curnutt worked his way forward through the pack, until — with less than 1,000 meters left — he was in the top-20. With a final time of 24:30.1, Curnutt finished in 18th place. He secured his place as an All-American and finished one of the most dominant stretches in the history of Wabash cross country.
Curnutt is now the 19th All-American the Red Pack has produced and just the fourth since the year 2000.
“Brayden Curnutt is tough, coachable and an overall great guy,” said Head Track & Field Coach Clyde Morgan, who coaches Curnutt during track season. “I think what makes him truly special is he’s figured out how to use whatever type of adversity he is going through to push him to greatness.”
Entering the season, it was unclear what the year would look like for Curnutt or how far he could go. After battling injuries through his first three seasons, Curnutt had never reached the national meet, but following an intense summer of preparation, Curnutt and McCreary were confident that a special year was in the making
“It’s definitely really special, sticking with it, which, in my mind, is hard to do when I kept having these little nagging injuries,” said Curnutt. “But the confidence and faith that coach had in me never really wavered.”
The rest is history, now that Curnutt has finished his cross country career with a defining achievement.
Alongside his performances on the course, Curnutt has been an important leader for the younger runners during his senior season.
“Brayden has a quiet strength to him,” said McCreary. “He brings this intensity to practice and to meets that not many people match. It’s important for us to have that edge.”
While Curnutt has finished his cross country career, Wabash will still see him compete during the track season, where he has found incredible success, including multiple all-conference finishes, that he hopes to carry forward through the spring.
“[I want to compete] in track the same way I finished cross country, just putting myself in a position to make it to the national meet,” said Curnutt. “I now know that I’m one of the best in the country, and I think that’s something that Coach McCreary and I can definitely build on.”
Wabash fans can look forward to seeing more of Brayden Curnutt, NCAC Champion, Great Lakes Regional Champion and All-American.
“When it all comes down to it — with school records that he could break and the amount of conference titles he’s won — Brayden might be able to walk away from this year as the finest runner ever to come to Wabash,” said McCreary.