Shane Artis competes in what most people see as an individual sport.

But to those who compete on a competitive cross country team know the sport has just as much of a team component and an individual one.

Artis, the top runner on the DeSales University team, recently took second place at the MAC Championships to lead his team to the conference title. While he was happy with his personal finish, his goal was all about team success.

“Winning MAC’s this year was a great accomplishment for both the team and me as an individual,” Artis said. “This was the team’s second conference win since 2007. We have had a lot of second- and third-place finishes over the years, but the team worked really hard over the summer, and we came out looking to win this year.

“Everyone this year has set some massive [personal records] and the team hopes to continue this dominance over the next coming years. As an individual, I placed second overall in a hard-fought battle but ultimately, we came to win as a team and that’s exactly what we did.”

Artis and his teammates went on to compete in last weekend’s NCAA Division III Metro Region Championships at Rowan University in New Jersey.

The Bulldogs finished fifth overall, one place better than last season, while Artis took second place individually to advance to the national championships. His time of 24:56.5 set a personal best and a school record for the 8K.

Artis originally committed to the Citadel after a successful high school career, but when the pandemic set in he decided he wanted to be closer to home.

“My four years at DeSales have been very memorable,” he said. “Everyone here treats you like family. What made me choose DSU out of high school was the fact that it was still close to home, and I knew I was going to be able to get a great education while still competing at a high level in sports. My four years here have proved that to be true.”

Artis is an accounting major and has succeeding in the classroom, earning a spot on MAC Honor Roll and Academic All-District in multiple semesters while on campus.

“This past year I was nominated for USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete, which, in order to qualify student athletes must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale and finish in the top-25 percent of their respective regional championship meet,” said Artis. “Trying to balance both academics and athletics can be a challenge at some points. Whenever new people come on to the team, I try to tell them that it is all about communication with the professors as well as learning time management skills.

“Throughout my time at DSU, I have continued to work on these skills, but I think the main reason I have had success with it is because I chose a major in which I am interested, and I run every day with people I love to be around.”

Artis also stays active and busy, competing in track and field, both indoor and outdoor. So his calendar is normally full with athletic endeavors.

“Track and cross country is a never-ending schedule with indoor track and outdoor track continuing through the winter and then in the spring as well,” Artis said. “My favorite event is the outdoor track 5,000-meter event. This past year as a junior I was able to run 14:50 for the first time. This event is my favorite because it combines the perfect amount of speed and endurance required to run a fast time. I also very much enjoy running the relay events in the 4X800 and distance medley relay as well.”

Being a student-athlete at Salisbury helped shape him into becoming an elite student-athlete.

“My time at Salisbury prepared me well for the transition to college,” said Artis. “I think that the guidance counselors there led me in the right direction as well as my coaches who were able to get me a good foundation that I would ultimately continue to build upon in college and then into my future career.”