Photos by University of South Carolina Athletic Communications

By Thomas Grant Jr.

Ask University of South Carolina assistant coach Kevin Brown about “Diggy”, his eyes light up.

“He’s blessed with the gift of genetics from his parents,” said Brown about sophomore sprinter

Devan Crumpton. “But this guy works hard. So, he’s going to make himself better because he works hard. His work ethic is just way over the top and you can’t enough about him because that’s what going to get him to the level he wants to reach because he never stops.”

Since arriving on-campus from Spring Valley High School, Crumpton has gone from a “wonky” runner to a “fine-tuned, efficient” member of one of the nation’s fastest relay teams.

As the third leg of the Gamecocks’ 4×400 meter team, his team-best 44.62 split led South Carolina to its first-ever gold medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. in March.

This past year also saw Crumpton run a personal-best 46.40 seconds in the 400 meters. He’s now headed to Lexington, Ky. this Thursday for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

He heads into the first-round qualifiers with the sixth fastest time at 44.93 seconds.

“It took a lot of experience,” Crumpton said. “Over the years, running collegiately, I’ve learned how to actually run the race properly and not just go out there and run. At Spring Valley, I was just running. But here, I came here and I learned how to actually run the race properly so that I can execute.”

Brown said he’s overseen the growth of Crumpton both physically and mentally in becoming a mechanically sound sprinter. The biggest area he’s stressed with Crumpton in incorporating patience into his running strategy.

“Most of these guys…especially Diggy, he’s going to compete,” Brown said. “I know he’s going to go at it 100 percent and he will put down to the floor on the gas pedal. But, it’s like poetry in motion running the 400 (meters). You want to be fast, but you want to be able to flow and you’ve got to pick and choose what is a spot that you take off and run.

“Just learning the patience of that because just getting out there to compete, that’s one thing and won’t you put you in a position where you’re successful. You’ll run fast, but not at the top. So, he had to learn patience.”

Despite the achievements, Crumpton described this past year as a “rollercoaster”. He’s had to overcame a lingering hamstrung injury just before the historic performance at the indoor meet.

Crumpton credited what he calls the “best training group” in the nation led by Brown. The team is motivated to “change the history” of South Carolina men’s track and field.