Athlete Spotlight: Cullen Dore

Cullen Dore, junior communications major, is looking to use his captainship to energize his cross-country team this year. 

“Coming into this year as captain has been special because I have been able to step into a position where I am in charge of rallying the troops,” Dore said. “It pushes me to do better knowing that I am setting the standard for the team; that I may be the one that the underclassmen look up to and learn from.” 

Dore likes to keep his team engaged and focused on always striving for more. He realizes his team’s success requires a shared mind set. 

“I always strive to keep the freshmen on their toes, ensuring that everyone is both physically and mentally fit,” Dore said. “I like to bring the attitude to the table that I am ready to go to war with these guys; that I am ready to toe the start line and give them everything I got. A team is only as strong as its slowest runner.” 

Having high hopes for the team means some things must change. Dore is an advocate for organization, so he added more to the team and their practices. 

“I have tried to introduce more structure into the team in order for things to feel more organized,” Dore said. “When you’re organized, there are fewer variables you have to worry about.” 

With their increased structure, Dore has both personal and team goals for this year. 

“The biggest goal on my radar this season is getting academic all-American,” Dore said. “On the team side of things, I would like for our squad to finish closer to the middle of the pack at the conference championships.” 

Dore’s reach doesn’t end with cross country. Dore is also the president of the Student Athlete Activities Committee (SAAC) and a founding member of Francis Marion’s chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, in which he is the external vice president. 

Dore was chosen to represent the Conference Carolinas on the DII NCAA SAAC. 

“I am the president of Conference Carolina’s conference SAAC and represent Conference Carolinas on the NCAA DII National SAAC,” Dore said. “I take a lot of pride in that position because there are only 26 members on that committee, and out of all the student-athletes in Conference Carolinas, I was chosen to represent the voice of hundreds of student-athletes.” 

On top of this, Dore also works with people in the sports information department at FMU. 

“I fell in love with sports media my freshman year and started taking pictures for “The Patriot” and producing content for FMUSports,” Dore said. “I run my own independent sports media account @CullenDoreMedia. Taking pictures of student-athletes is not only fun and rewarding for me, but for the student-athletes I am taking the pictures of as well.” 

Dore periodically sends athletes and teams folders of photos he has taken and edited. 

 “As an athlete, I know how happy I get when I can get pictures of me preforming my sport,” Dore said. “It is not only exciting for me, but for my family who may not be able to watch me compete. I take pictures with the intent of gifting student-athletes that pleasure.” 

Dore has a plethora of responsibilities, so he utilizes different tools to keep himself accountable and successful. 

“Time management is very crucial in my day-to-day,” Dore said. “I live and die by my reminder app on my devices. If it’s not on my reminder app, it doesn’t exist in my life and won’t ever get done.”  

He keeps a solid routine to mitigate any external variables that might throw him off track.  

“When it comes to juggling all of the things I do, I find that maintaining a consistent schedule keeps my life in balance,” Dore said. “I try to put a lot of emphasis on the importance of having a healthy sleep cycle and nutrition plan.”