“My Goodness!”

Cravont Charleston ’20, a five-time ACC champion as a sprinter for NC State, shocked the track world in July when he won the 100-meter race at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Charleston edged out Christian Coleman, the 2019 world champion, in a time of 9.95 seconds to claim his first national title. Charleston had never reached the finals in previous national and NCAA competitions. “My goodness, the 25-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is a national champion and has rocked the sprinting world,” an announcer from NBC Sports said during the broadcast.

After the race, Charleston told reporters that his training had prepared him for the moment. “It feels great,” he said. “It took a while. . . it’s about time. It’s God’s timing, right, but I kind of knew I could do it.”