He gave four years to the St. Joe’s men’s track team but felt a ‘duty’ to return. It’s worked out for the Hawks.

Before his senior year started, middle-distance runner Gavin Campbell signed a contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers for a job after he graduated. But as his time at St. Joseph’s dwindled and graduation day approached, Campbell felt it wasn’t time to step away.

He felt he still could contribute to the track team he’d spent the last four years with. He thought about it, but it ultimately didn’t feel like much of a decision. So he returned as a graduate assistant.

“I have plenty of time to go work, but right now, it kind of felt like my duty to come back and to help these guys and girls be the best they can be, and I haven’t regretted it for a day,” said Campbell, who was an actuarial science major. “I’ve had a ton of fun, too. [It’s] been a great experience. I think it’s made me a better person. I’d like to think that I’ve helped others as well, and just knowing that I’ve done that has kind of solidified my decision.”

For middle-distance coach Chris Tarello, having Campbell return to the team in a new role, especially as the program brought in a large freshman class, was “by design.”

“Having the opportunity to have Gavin work with us for a year and continue on the tradition that he established early on in his career, I thought that was so important and such a great opportunity for people to have,” Tarello said.

Campbell was the first leg of the 4x800-meter relay that won gold at the Atlantic 10 outdoor championship last spring.

Despite losing Campbell and Owen Moelter, the anchor of that relay team, the men’s 4x800 won gold at the A-10 indoor championship on March 1 with a time of 7 minutes, 33.81 seconds. And Campbell witnessed it from the other side.

“It’s pretty interesting that Gavin was on those teams from the beginning, and now he’s coaching with us,” Tarello said. “Having upperclassmen who established that tradition, I think it’s become very important for us to just continue it from year to year.”

With a “commitment to carrying on a tradition that’s been established,” Tarello said members of the relay have taken on the roles left to them, with advice from Campbell.

During his earlier years, Campbell said he did everything by the book and focused on being serious. Now, knowing how temporary those four years are, Campbell has a different perspective.

“Coming back now, and maybe it’s just being older, maybe it’s not having the pressure on me to perform in that same way, but I try to preach a lot of ‘Do one thing at a time. Enjoy the process; enjoy where you are,’” Campbell said.

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The current process is one of fulfillment for Campbell. In his position, he can celebrate when runners have “the day of their life,” as well as talk others through their rough meets.

“It’s nice to see these guys who I’ve ran with for four years still have success and have even more,” Campbell said. “And then these young guys who come in, watching them follow in the footsteps that we laid when we had our freshman class come in. It’s just great to see that the group is still functioning at the highest level that Tarello has demanded of us since he’s been here.”

Along with the big moments at meets, Campbell helps out with workouts, pacing races, the mental side of things, and being part of “behind the scenes” conversations.

“To be a voice in those discussions and have an opinion in those conversations has been nice to bring a perspective of someone who was just in the program to these guys who have run programs so well for so long, to provide any kind of current advice I can,” Campbell said

Jayden Greene, a fifth-year middle-distance runner, came in with Campbell in the fall of 2020. Greene was one of two runners from that year who came back for a fifth year.

Greene, a member of this season’s gold-medal relay, said having Campbell around for the experience and advice he can offer has helped him.

“Having Gav here as a coach, but also someone to run with and train with, really does help,” Greene said. “I can’t really go to the young guys if they’re not as experienced, and Gav has a lot of experience, so it’s always nice to have him around whenever I need help or advice.”

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With a large group of underclassmen, many shared experiences and accolades among the upperclassmen, and a legacy left by Campbell and his teammates, Campbell said the focus is on pressing on the way the Hawks have been.

Middle-distance groups from the last three seasons hold three of the four 4x800-meter program records: the men’s indoor and outdoor records and the women’s indoor record. Campbell was a part of both of those men’s relays. The women’s indoor record was set during the Eastern College Athletic Conference indoor championships on March 9.

But the next step, Campbell said, is to bring the Hawks’ success to a national level.

“We’ve started to assert ourselves in the conference,” he said. “For what the IC4A and ECAC still is, we’ve continued to be a presence in it every year, and I think that next step is kind of pushing toward that top of the NCAA level, starting to get our name on a wider scale. We’re working in that direction.”