Boys' cross country notebook: Wood's Clark caps stellar postseason

LEESBURG — James Wood sophomore Eli Clark had put in the work, achieved success and had confidence going into Saturday at Oatlands.

It can be hard to think about those things in the moments before you toe that starting line and prepare to run in a state cross country meet, though.

“Easily the most nervous I’ve ever been for a race,” said Clark, who proceeded to move his body in a wobbling motion for emphasis. “About to throw up and everything. About to cry.”

The next 3.1 miles he ran were not smooth sailing, but Clark showed exactly why he set such high goals for himself.

James Wood coach Matthew Lofton said Clark told him he wanted to place in the Top 15 and be All-State, and he did just that by placing 11th in 16 minutes and 47 seconds.

Much of the talk in Winchester-Frederick County this year has focused on Handley juniors Will Pardue and Garrett Stickley, Millbrook senior Nick Hayden and James Wood junior Ethan Pratt-Perez, and for good reason. The group swept the top three places at the Class 4 Northwestern District meet (Pardue didn’t finish due to injury) and took four of the top five spots at the Region 4C meet.

But Clark showed he was an emerging force by finishing eight seconds behind the fifth-place Hayden and placing sixth at the Region 4C meet in a personal-record of 15 minutes and 41 seconds. On Saturday, Clark was No. 3 among Region 4C runners, finishing only behind the Handley duo.

Lofton said Clark put in a lot of training with Pratt-Perez and senior Jacob Oliver over the summer, and he wound up peaking when it mattered most. At the Region 4C meet, Lofton said Clark ran harder than he normally does at the start, and that paved the way for his stellar performance.

“He’s really into the sport,” Lofton said. “He just kind of lives and breathes running. He went for it last week, and it paid off huge. I think he kind of knew what he could do but he wasn’t sure if he could do it. He saw last week that he could do it, so this week he said I want to be top 15, I want to be All-State, I’m going to put myself in it, and he did. It was another great race for him.”

Clark might have been nervous at the start, but that didn’t stop from having one of the best starts of the 100 people who wound up finishing. Clark set a personal record by recording a 4:57 in the opening mile.

Clark said from there, he just had to tough it out.

“It’s all mental. In my opinion, cross country is about who dies last, unless you’re Conner Rutherford,” said Clark, mentioning the individual champion from Blacksburg who looked strong throughout and won by 10 seconds in 15:46.

Oliver gave Clark a shot of life when he most needed it. Clark said Oliver — who was a spectator on Saturday — played a recording of the Foo Fighters “Bridge Burning” as he approached the steep “kill hill” near the 2.5-mile mark.

“That was the best moment of the entire race,” Clark said. “I heard the music, and I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’ Nothing motivates me more than Foo Fighters.”

Clark said his goal this season was to just break 17 minutes, and he surpassed that significantly. Clark ran for James Wood when it competed at last year’s Class 4 meet as a team, but he never thought he’d qualify for states as an individual this year. To get All-State is something he won’t forget.

“I’m pretty happy,” Clark said. “The emotions are ecstatic.”

Lofton couldn’t have been happier for Clark, but his sadness for Pratt-Perez showed immediately when he was asked about him. Pratt-Perez was looking strong through two miles (10:34) but he had a rough finish and took 38th in 17:57.

Lofton hadn’t spoken to Pratt-Perez as he made his comments, but he said that the junior wasn’t feeling well coming into the race.

“Ethan’s probably the perfect athlete you can ask for in training because he’s such a perfectionist,” Lofton said. “Unfortunately, I think his perfection kind of sometimes gets the best of him in a way, because he wants to be the best. It’s hard to grit it out when you’re feeling bad, and it’s hard to calm the pressure you put on yourself when you could be a winner or a top-five guy.

“It’s tough as a coach and tough as a friend, because I know this isn’t what he wanted. I just wish it would click for him [at states].”