Making a statement in her comeback

Just last Wednesday, Crawford was declared the Region 1 AAA 200 meter champion and was a runner up in the hurdles in a season best 15.32, not even a tenth of a second behind winner Fairmont Senior High School junior Alyssa Scherich.

This mark broke her previous record of 15.41 that was set last season.

Getting back to this point, she realizes now that she didn't believe in herself enough before.

"I looked everywhere else for help, except my own self. That was the key to success was just listening to what I knew how to do instead of looking to critique everything from everyone else's standing point. I just had to realize what I could do."

Although she wasn’t pleased with the start of her season, she knows she is back on track.

“It wasn’t what I had hoped for, but I think that all set me up for a better come back toward the end.”
And just in time for the West Virginia State Track Meet.

Current standings have Crawford ranked seventh in the 200 meter dash and fifth in the 100 high hurdles.

Besides competing as an individual, she is an integral part of the 4x100 meter relay team and the shuttle hurdles that also earned the trip to Charleston. Being a part of all of these events is all equally important to her, as she lives and breathes the sport. With her versatility, there is nothing she can’t do, as she is relied on so much to lead her team.

However, there is just something about the 100 meter high hurdles that gets Crawford in the zone more than anything.

"I just think it's better than straight running," she said. "There's so much that goes into hurdles to win the race, and you have to worry so much of your lead, your trail and steps and I think it's just so much more of a thrill and so much more exciting to run all 10 hurdles than to just run a straight 200 meter dash.”

This passion for the event has her sailing over hurdles seconds quicker than she did just two years before. As a freshman, she just missed qualifying for the finals in the hurdles at the Region 1 AAA meet. Not to mention she never broke 17 the entire season.

By the time she started her sophomore season, that all changed. Something had shifted.

"I think it's just telling myself that I can run the hurdles because in freshman year I fell and I would run awful times, and I just thought I didn't really like hurdles. And so, I came back my sophomore year, kind of carefree. I tried not to care as much about winning compared to running like I know how to do. I think it was just mental preparation is what helped me the most compared to actual principles."

That talent is so obvious when Crawford steps on the track that several prestigious schools have already taken notice. Princeton, Harvard, Duke, and Notre Dame were just a few of the schools who expressed interest in Crawford earlier this year. And it's no wonder, with how much she is relied on to contribute for the team.

Sometimes that can be nerve wrecking though, knowing she is expected to perform up to a certain standard.
"I would choose to walk off a turn in my 4x1, knowing that I ran as hard as I could have or in shuttles that I could have caught up to the girl ahead of me and didn't." Then motivation kicks in to play.

"It's also like a motivation because my team mates are coming in strong, and I'm just going to carry on and keep it going strong. So I'm nervous, but at the same time, I am really excited because as a team, we're closing strong."

Now that she is back in that zone, Crawford is ready to use the race strategy that has her sailing over hurdles without hesitation. Have fun and hope for the best, she says.

"Like at Regionals, I had no game plan. I was just trying to run, so I'm going to go down and just hope for the best, just run the race I know how to run, have fun with it, so I don't get too nervous or too excited about it. Just run. I am confident in myself now with all I went through, but I really am just excited to go down and know that I did well so far."

Crawford is scheduled to run her first event on Friday, May 20 at 3:30 p.m. in the 100 meter high hurdles.

Email Nicole Lemal at run.nicole.wvu@gmail.com.