Beckett Crooks was walking around Huron Meadows Metropark as if he had just taken a walk in the park. The Pioneer junior had just completed a few laps around the park in the 37th annual Early Bird Open in Brighton where he finished in first place.
He didn’t look tired or exhausted or beaten down. He looked fired up and ready to run again.
“Yeah, I feel pretty good,” Crooks said after he led his team to a second-place finish in the 19-team race on a very hot afternoon. “It was good to get out there and run with my teammates.
“I was expecting a closer race between me and a couple other guys. It felt a little weird running alone.”
Trying to keep focused with no one in front of you is something Crooks is going to have to get used to. “I try to find areas in front of me to focus on and make sure I don’t zone out,” he said.
Crooks won the Early Bird Open with a time of 16:11.20, beating out Mason’s Alex Doneth who was second in 16:29.10. The six runners to finish behind Crooks were all seniors.
He followed up his season-opening win with another victory in the SEC Jamboree 1 at Willow Metropark on Sept. 10. His time of 16:12.98 was a few steps better than Adrian’s Moises Salazar (16:16.3). Pioneer finished third in the race, behind Dexter and winner Saline.
“My goal for this year is to finish in the top 10 at States,” he said. “I spent the off-season working pretty hard. I did a lot of two-a-days and double workouts and just tried to get stronger.”
Crooks started running because he had some friends who were into it and encouraged him to try out. “My freshman year, I just loved it,” he said. “And I was hooked.”
Crooks said last year “went pretty good” when he finished 53rd at the MHSAA State Finals with a time of 16:04.4. The Pioneers finished in sixth place with 265 points, just behind Canton (253).
“State finals was a good race and capped off a pretty good season,” Crooks said.
He ran fourth at the Regionals with a time of 16:03.1 and his PR was a 15:55.9 at the fourth annual Michigan Meet of Champions where he finished 72nd.
The Pioneer boys’ cross country team always has high expectations and this year is no different.
“We have a good team,” Crooks said. “We want to win states this year. That’s our goal. I don’t know if it’s going to happen but we are going to give it everything we have.”
