In a mild upset, Gloucester (MA) junior Everest Crawford beat pre-race favorite Gabe Montague of Newton North (MA) to win the 1,000 with a US # 3 of 2:26.11. Montague, a senior, was second at 2:26.38.
Crawford was a little surprised by his win. Just a week earlier at the MIAA All State Meet, he was a runner-up to Montague, who ran a nation No. 1 of 2:25.45.
“My plan after All States, the plan that my coach and I decided, was to not run this week because we had been training to peak last Saturday. But then he said, ‘You know what, let’s just go for it!’” Crawford recalled. “I got a good week of training and then we had two goals. If Gabe wasn’t there, win. If he was there, run a good time, and he was here and I managed to do both. That’s pretty awesome.”
Holding a slight lead, Montague led the pack through a 57-second 400 split and was 1:27 at the 600. Crawford timed his kick right around 700 meters.
“I was like, ‘Oh, my God! I feel great,’” he said. “I felt I could actually hold on. I made sure I got ahead of him before the last 200. That one hurt. But hearing my name being called (on the PA system) as I came down in front that helped.”
Despite having the distinction of being the fastest runners in the country at the 1K distance, Montague knew it wouldn’t be easy to win with Crawford in the race.
“Coming off of All States, he was less than a second behind me,” he said. “I knew that he would be the toughest competitor, and I knew who it was coming around the last lap beside me.”
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