ROCKINGHAM — Devon Tillman has spent the last four years running cross country for Richmond Senior High School, and now the senior will be spending the next four competing for Pfeiffer University.
Last week, Tillman received a merit scholarship to run cross country for the Falcons, and made his announcement public on Tuesday after receiving his official acceptance letter. His verbal commitment to run at the Division III school in Misenheimer, N.C., made him the second Richmond athlete of the 2019-2020 school year to do so.
Tillman joins current Raider football player D’marcus Harrington on the list of Raider student-athletes continuing their respective playing and educational careers. Harrington, a safety, announced earlier this month he would be attending and playing football at Campbell University.
“When I got the scholarship, my parents were so proud,” Tillman explained. “It felt like a dream because I never thought I could combine my academics and athletics to get a scholarship.
“I’m really excited because I’m the first in my family to go to school,” he added. “My dad told me the work doesn’t stop now and it’s only the beginning.”
A key contributor to the Raider cross country team since his freshman year, Tillman found his love for the sport during his eighth-grade year at Ellerbe Middle School.
There, during the county’s inaugural season with the long-distance sport, Tillman and the Wildcats won the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference championship in 2015. It was the school’s first title in any sport in 20 years.
Pfeiffer came up on Tillman’s radar when the Raider cross country team ran in an invitational at the school. A native of Ellerbe, Tillman said the small campus “reminded me of home,” which led him to apply.
“Everything on campus is right there together,” Tillman said. “When we met with the coach, my dad asked if he would send his own kids there and he said yes because it’s such a special place.”
Tillman went on his official visit this past Monday and met with head coach Andrew Howard to discuss the scholarship offer, tour campus and familiarize himself with his future home. Of Howard and the Falcons, Tillman noted “the team is really close and is always working together.”
In a sport that is physically demanding during 3.2-miles races, and that is also mentally taxing, Tillman has refused to quit during his high school career. When he first met Richmond head coach Reggie Miller the summer before his freshman year, Tillman remembered Miller saying that cross country is a sport that can open academic and athletic avenues at the collegiate level.
Now as he works his way through his senior year at Richmond, those avenues are wider and brighter than ever for the future Falcon. But he’s not soon to forget his time as a Raider and what the past four years on and off the course have done to prepare him for the next chapter.
“Richmond has been a lot of fun, and running cross country brought me out of my comfort zone,” Tillman explained. “When I started running in eighth grade, I never thought I’d be at this point. I’ve met so many new people and made new friends.
“Our team is really more of a family,” he continued. “My favorite part has been being able to spend time with the team and helping each other get better.”
“Devon is a great kid and he does everything right,” Miller said. “He’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve had. He had a great four years on the team and Pfeiffer couldn’t have picked a better kid than Devon.
“His hard work has paved the way for him to continue running in college,” he added. “He will represent the Richmond Raiders very well and I’ve excited for him.”
Pfeiffer competes in the USA South Athletic Conference and the Falcons were ranked as the No. 6 team in the pre-season poll. In its most recent meet, the men’s cross country team took second place in the Greensboro Invitational. Tillman will be joining a generally young team, which is comprised of four sophomores and a freshman amongst its eight-man roster.
With the Raider cross country team preparing for the NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regionals next Saturday, Tillman said he’s got a new-found motivation to keep getting better. Between now and when he leaves for college next summer, he said he wants to continue working on controlling his pace and his breathing, while also trying to better his personal record time of 22:52.
Tillman plans on majoring in sports management, adding he’s always hand a desire to coach high school athletics or serve as an athletic director. He’s going to “stick to sports, which is what I know best.”
“I want to thank my parents for supporting me even when things were hard (on the course),” Tillman closed. “They’ve always been supportive of me wanting to run, and they’re my biggest fans.
“And a ‘thank you’ to Coach Miller for being a good coach the last four years and pushing me to do my best.”
