Sam Chandler
Ethan Strand
Strand had a 50-meter lead on his opponents in Thursday’s Metro South Middle School Cross Country Championships.
Not even Pizitz Middle School seventh grader Ethan Strand understands how he stayed composed on the starting line of Thursday’s Metro South Middle School Cross Country Championships.
“I don’t know,” Strand said. “I just do it.”
That he did.
After two race restarts left the field of 276 Birmingham-area middle schoolers antsy to begin the championship race, Strand maintained an unshakable focus, cruising to a signature victory on the two-mile course at Veterans Park and leading the Pizitz boys to a team title.
Behind the top-20 efforts of Strand, Jarod Tofil (5th), Andrew Precise (9th), Will Meadows (11th) and Sam Culbertson (20th), Pizitz tallied 46 points, finishing ahead of runner-up Hewitt-Trussville Middle by 17 points.
Initially challenged by a runner from Oak Mountain Middle, Strand went out hard in the first 800 meters, eager to put himself in a position to win from the beginning.
After surging ahead on the first of two loops around the park’s pond, Strand came through the mile all alone, well ahead of his nearest competitor.
By the finish, he had built a lead of over 50 meters, crossing the line in 11:14.76, 11 seconds in front of Berry Middle School’s Charlie Trower.
“I’m glad I won, but I mean my time, it was okay,” Strand said. “I wish I wouldn’t have gone out as fast. I thought I could’ve run a little faster.”
Although the clock time didn’t meet Strand’s standards, his final pace of 5:37 per mile on an unusually hot fall evening looks pretty impressive, especially considering the energy-zapping theatrics on the race’s starting line
“All your adrenaline just goes away after that first one and the little bit you have left on the second start, it’s completely gone by the third start,” Strand said.
Homewood Middle’s Lainey Phelps blazed to a 46-second victory in the girls’ race, winning in 11:34.12. The Mountain Brook Jr. High girls won the team title after totaling 39 points.
