Croshaw born to run

Aragon High sophomore Lauren Croshaw never envisioned competing in the 800-meter run, let alone excelling at it. How ironic then the 800 has become Croshaw's best event. The Daily Journal's Athlete of the Week, Croshaw finished third in the 800 last Friday at the Top 8 Meet in Los Gatos, one of the key races of the regular season. Croshaw's time of 2 minutes, 16.79 seconds bettered her previous record by two seconds, and it also set a school record. "I was extremely surprised when I found out it was a school record," Croshaw said. "With all the good runners Aragon has had, I never thought it was going to happen." Croshaw's run was nothing if not dramatic. Croshaw, 15, beat the fourth-place finisher by two-tenths of a second, leaning forward at the line with so much force she nearly did a face plant. "I almost fell on my face," she said. If Croshaw ends up winning the 800 at the upcoming Peninsula Athletic League Championships and doing well at the Central Coast Section Meet, she'll look back to the Top 8 as the event that jump-started her run. This was only the fourth time Croshaw had competed in the 800, and as such she didn't know what to expect. "It was weird because I didn't know how fast everyone was and wasn't sure if I could keep up with anybody," she said. Croshaw did more than keep up with her fellow competitors -- she wound up with a podium finish. However, the more important part about the run was Croshaw gaining valuable experience for the next time she competes in the event. In Friday's competition, Croshaw got boxed in with 200 meters to go. "It got real bad," she said. "I had nowhere to go for a while." But with 110 meters left, Croshaw found some room to maneuver. She passed a couple of runners before sprinting to the finish line. Buoyed by her third-place finish, Croshaw can't wait to run the 800 at PALs and CCS. "Last year (at this time), the 800 was the last thing I wanted to run," she said. Croshaw, who ran the 1600, 3200, 300 hurdles and 4x400 relay at the frosh-soph level last year, started to have a change of heart regarding the 800 at the Stanford Invitational this season, when she competed in the 4x800 relay. It's an event that usually doesn't have a place in most competitions but does for the Stanford Invitational. "At Stanford, I was our team's anchor leg and was focused on passing everyone," Croshaw said. "I got all excited and I'm pretty sure that's one of the reasons why I got a good (split) time. Now I want to keep on improving and try to get to state (in the 800). At the beginning of the season all of my goals were focused on the mile." Croshaw feels the first lap of the 800 is key because as long as she can keep pace with the leaders, she'll be able to use her strong kick in the final 200 meters. And now that Croshaw has a better grasp of race tactics, she won't be susceptible to getting boxed in with the outcome of the race at stake. Frank Hunt, who coaches the long-distance runners at Aragon, said Croshaw has the running chops to excel in the 800. "The 800 is a good race for her because she closes really well," Hunt said. "Lauren is a very smart runner and will only get faster with more experience. This summer we'll get some more base miles in her, and then she'll really take off." Croshaw has always had a running jones. She remembers racing friends starting in preschool and continuing through elementary and middle school. Croshaw has an insatiable appetite to improve, and her competitive streak shows up everyday when she runs with members of Aragon's boys' track team. "So I'm always getting pushed no matter what," she said. "But no matter how good I get, I don't feel that great." It's that insatiable appetite to improve that has Croshaw on the rise. The Top 8 Meet could be a preview of things to come for Croshaw, who needed to find out for herself what it was like to run in a tightly-bunched group consisting of some of the best runners in the section. Before the Top 8, Croshaw hadn't faced much competition in the 800, as she won a couple of league meets with ease. "In some PAL races she's leading by 40 to 50 yards," Hunt said. "I needed Friday's race to learn how to run in a bigger group," Croshaw said. "Now I know I can compete with the best runners. I know if I can keep pace with them at the start, I won't die at the end. I always like the end because finishing is the easiest part."