Cravont Charleston, NC State track alum, is fastest man in America

Cravont Charleston is the fastest sprinter in the United States. Those who know him are not nearly as surprised as the rest of the track and field world.

“I told people going into last weekend that ‘Vont was going to win,” said Danny Peebles, the one-time Olympic-caliber sprinter who played football for the Wolfpack and was a member of the Wolfpack’s 1985 NCAA champion 4×100 relay team.

“Some people thought he might be a little under the radar, but he’s not anymore.”

Charleston, a five-year participant for the Wolfpack indoor and outdoor track and field programs, surprised more noted opponents like Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles to take the men’s national championship in the 100 meters in Eugene, Oregon, with a blazing time of 9.95 seconds.

The win was a surprise even to Charleston, who was in an outside lane and couldn’t really tell he clipped Coleman and others at the end.

“I thought I got fourth,” he said after the race.

Charleston now heads to the World Athletics Championships in Aug. 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary, to vie for a world championship, something the last three winners of the U.S. men’s 100-meters have done.

“He’s not exactly an overnight success,” said longtime NC State men’s track and field coach Rollie Geiger, “but he was running against an accomplished group ,and not a lot of people expected him to win.”

Though he won two All-American honors and five ACC titles for the Wolfpack, the native of Charlotte and graduate of Mallard Creek High School is seen by many as a late bloomer who had never made the finals at a national or international track event.

He had an outstanding career from 2016-21, but COVID halted his 2020 attempt to win an NCAA indoor championship in the 60 meters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and injuries hampered his final outdoor season in 2021.

He had never broken the 10-second mark in the 100-meters until last year at the age of 24.

While he’s made a name for himself, Charleston is a rare bird in the track community: He’s the first USATF champion in his event without a shoe endorsement deal since 2012. That should change soon if Charleston continues to improve his career best, which currently sits at 9.90 seconds.

The lack of an apparel contract forced Charleston to take a part-time job with a fast-food restaurant to make ends meet shortly after he graduated with a degree in communications from NC State.

It paid the bills and also allowed him to keep training with two-time Olympian and 1996 gold-medal winner Allen Johnson, who was an assistant for Geiger until last summer when he became the director of track and field programs at North Carolina A&T. Charleston still lives in Charlotte, but trains with Johnson at a track in Greensboro.

Johnson recognized Charleston’s talent immediately.

“I’ve been expecting this since he was a freshman in college,” Johnson said.

Charleston just needed a few years of injury recovery and confidence building to get to this point in his career.

“I know I can race with the big guys,” Charleston said to NBC after proving it on international television. “I’m trying to stay calm and stay focused on the next part.

“This is just a stepping stone.”

Charleston is not the first Wolfpack sprinter to make a splash on the national stage. Peebles did it during his Hall of Fame career, as did other dual-sport athletes that populated NC State’s football rosters, like receivers Alvis Whitted, T.J. Graham, Tobais Palmer and Nyheim Hines.

“The state of North Carolina and NC State have had some of the best athletes in the world, and it’s humbling to see that still continue,” Graham said

“NC State has some rich history in the sprints, as well as distance races and cross country. We need to get that football-track connection going again.”

All of the others pursued football careers after college, with Hines still setting speed records with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

Charleston still has a bright future as a professional runner, and Peebles has another prediction.

“He’ll go faster,” said Peebles, who worked as a volunteer coach for the Wolfpack’s track and field team during Cravont Charleston’s first two years at State. “I won’t be surprised if he comes home as a world champion.”

Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at [email protected].