WEST Vancouver's Helen Crofts ended her Simon Fraser University running career in fine style last weekend, winning the 800 m title at the NCAA Div. 2 Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Pueblo, Colo.
Crofts led wire-to-wire, coming home in 2: 08.18 to take the win by more than a second over Jaylen Rodgers of Angelo State. North Vancouver's Lindsey Butterworth finished fourth. No one, however, could overtake Crofts down the final straight even though she took the potentially risky tactic of running out front.
"I'm used to leading races so I've become fairly comfortable out in front," she told the North Shore News after returning home. "I kind of decided before I ran that I wasn't going for a fast time necessarily, more focusing on running a smart race and trying to win."
Win she did, earning her second NCAA title following a victory over the same distance at the indoor championships earlier this season. Crofts also leaves the program with several NAIA championship wins that were racked up before SFU made the move into the NCAA.
"It was great to see her win but it will be sad to see her leave the program," said coach Brit Townsend in an SFU release. "Helen has been a great leader. She was so positive and confident throughout and the whole team draws from that."
Honours poured in for Crofts as she wrapped up her fifth and final season at SFU. Following the national championships she was named an NCAA All-American, as was Butterworth. Crofts was also named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-academic team after scoring a grade point average of 4.14, the highest in the conference.
Crofts was also named the west region's female athlete of the year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The awards, honours and medals all reinforce the West Vancouver secondary grad's decision to join the powerhouse SFU track program that has produced many great middle-distance racers, including fellow North Shore runner Jessica Smith who ran in the 2012 Olympic Games.
"I came into the program and there were people ahead of me who I was really inspired by and focused on trying to get to their level," said Crofts. "I've had Jess there the entire time and she's just a fantastic training partner, I couldn't ask for a better one. And it's great when you see the new people come in and everyone improves. I think it's just because you're there working together and everyone is committed and it's a ton of fun. Once you see one person succeed you believe that you're capable of doing the same thing. That's kind of where the team aspect comes in. Through working together and watching other people's successes, you kind of can build on that and work from there."
Crofts will run in the Canadian national championships later this month and then travel to Russia for her second crack at the World University Games. In the fall she'll evaluate her career, athletic and educational options - she graduated with a bachelor of science with honours in biology and is keen on doing post-grad work - before deciding where to run to next. For now, though, she's retiring her SFU singlet but she'll still be one of the gang hanging around the team on top of Burnaby Mountain, training hard and going fast.
"I couldn't be happier," she said, summing up the triumphant finish to her SFU career. "I'm sad to see it go but I'm very happy I'm going to be able to continue training with the team for the foreseeable future. SFU proved to be a really great experience and I definitely wouldn't have done things differently."
