High School Sports
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Class 4-A boys title up for grabs
Journal File Photo
Patrick Crawford (right) won the Midwest 4-A Regional.
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Published: November 5, 2009
Patrick Crawford of East Forsyth has become forgetful -- in a good way.
Crawford, a senior, and two others from Forsyth County schools will be among a pack of runners expected to contend for the Class 4-A boys title Saturday in the NCHSAA cross-country championships at Tanglewood Park.
And Crawford, who won the Midwest 4-A Regional in Greensboro last weekend, will do his best, as he has done since last November, to forget what happened in the 2008 championships.
Crawford finished third in the state as a sophomore in 2007, but had trouble catching his breath last year and faded throughout the final, eventually finishing 74th. It was a mystery, he said, as to why it happened, because it didn't happen before, and it hasn't happened since.
"It's pretty gone," Crawford said. "I just don't think about it much. I've just tried to move on to other things, and I have been running pretty good all year. I would compare this to my sophomore year as to how fit I am, but I am feeling pretty good this year."
With three-time champion Taylor Gilland of Chapel Hill graduated, the 4-A boys title is up for grabs. That means Crawford, Jack Anderson of Reagan and Jared Neely of Mount Tabor all will have a chance Saturday. Other top contenders include Reidy Jones of Raleigh Broughton -- the Mideast 4-A Regional champ -- Blake Williams of Northern Durham and Mohamed Abushouk from Cary.
"I think that it's pretty much seven or eight guys that could totally come away with it," Crawford said. "There is no clear-cut person. Something could happen like what happened to me last year and totally put someone out of the race."
Crawford pulled away from Anderson with about 1,000 meters left in last weekend's regional race and won with a time of 15:44. Anderson, who has the strongest finishing kick of the three Forsyth County contenders, finished in 15:58, and Neely was third in 16:06.
Coach Patrick Cromwell of Mount Tabor said that Crawford and Anderson clearly had better days than Neely at the regional, and that Neely was content not to push himself over the last part of the race.
"His goal has always been to have his best performance at the state meet," Cromwell said of Neely. "He just felt like it wasn't his day. We had talked that if the win wasn't there, to save a little something for (this) week. But Patrick Crawford looks to be running the best locally. He looked really strong.
"This weekend there are seven, eight guys that all have the ability to win if it's their day, and it's pretty exciting for three guys from Forsyth County to be on that list."
Anderson said that Crawford is "a great runner" and that he wasn't surprised that when Crawford pulled away last week.
"He has tried to use that to beat me because he knows that's the best way for him," Anderson said. "My kick is probably the best aspect of my race, so that's what he tries to do."
Anderson said he hasn't felt well recently, but that his health has taken a turn for the better at the right time.
"I have a lot of respect for all the guys in the field, and this is one of the deepest fields individually that 4-A has ever had," Anderson said. "But I will definitely go into that race feeling like I have a chance to win."
Friday: A look at area girls contenders.
mlinker@wsjournal.com.
727-7324
Cross-country championships
• Day: Saturday
• Site: Tanglewood Park
• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Schedule: 1-A boys (10 a.m.); 2-A boys (10:30); 1-A girls (11 a.m.); 2-A girls (11:30); 3-A boys (2 p.m.); 4-A boys (2:30); 3-A girls (3 p.m.); 4-A girls (3:30)
• Admission: $6/person
Cross-country championships
• Day: Saturday
• Site: Tanglewood Park
• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Schedule: 1-A boys (10 a.m.); 2-A boys (10:30); 1-A girls (11 a.m.); 2-A girls (11:30); 3-A boys (2 p.m.); 4-A boys (2:30); 3-A girls (3 p.m.); 4-A girls (3:30)
• Admission: $6/person
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