As a high school student, he won 19 state titles; 12 as an individual, two as a member of relay squads, and five as part of a team.

On March 10, 2002, Curtis won the boy's mile as a junior at the Nike Indoor Classic in Landover, with a time of 4:16.14.

[7] On November 9, 2002, Curtis won Kentucky's state high school cross country championship in Lexington, running the 5-kilometer course in 15:24 on a windy day.

[9] In spite of his performance at Arcadia, he still finished in fourth place among a deep field of runners; the race was won by Chris Solinsky in 8:43.24.

[11] In the fall of 2004, Curtis, then a sophomore, won his first Big East championship when he topped the field in cross country.

He followed that performance with a 15th-place showing in that year's NCAA cross country nationals, earning collegiate All-American honors for the first time.

Over the next two years, Curtis suffered various injuries and setbacks, and it wasn't until the spring of 2007 that he returned completely healthy to competition.

[11] From 2008 to 2012, he trained regularly with Melbourne Track Club along with Olympians Collis Birmingham and Ben St. Lawrence.