MILLIGAN, Tenn. (WJHL) – Milligan University awarded its inaugural Eli Cramer Memorial Scholarship.
Milligan cross country and track student-athlete Cameron Walker is the recipient of the award.
The award is named after the late Milligan cross country and track runner Eli Cramer. Cramer was killed in the spring of 2022 when a drunk driver hit him and two other teammates while training for a track meet the following day.
Walker said it’s an honor to earn this award. She said that the scholarship embodies the meaning of being both a student and an athlete.
“I’m glad to be a part of that,” Walker said. “To be chosen as a person that is a combination of both.”
Milligan University awards this scholarship to a graduating high school student who participated in cross country or track and earned a minimum 3.5 GPA. The scholarship aims to support students from Cramer’s hometown of Murfreesboro or a student from Middle Tennessee.
Walker said that Cramer was a well-known name in Middle Tennessee, which makes this honor even more special.
“This community of runners is definitely a thing to be proud of,” Walker said.
Cramer will be inducted into the Milligan’s Hall of Fame in October. University President Dr. Bill Greer said that Cramer was the embodiment of a student-athlete.
“To have a scholarship that recognizes that caliber of person and that caliber of athlete is a real testimony to who he was and to the way we want to remember him,” Greer said.
The Eli Cramer Memorial Scholarship was established by the LIVE like ELI Foundation.
Cramer was one of the key contributors to Milligan’s 2021 NAIA cross country national champion, the first NAIA team national championship in school history.
