Florida junior has bold goals
Unprecedented Mile-800 double in Florida State Meet -
sub-1:50 800 at AOC Raleigh -
national record 800 in 2003
Paul Cross (1) uses his speed to go 3-wide and launch
his winning kick in the 800
over Oakton VA sr Phil Gaeta, a nationally ranked runner himself.
Photo by John Dye
by Ricky Quintana
Paul Cross entered this season as the fourth fastest returning
800m runner
in the nation. After placing second in the 800m by a mere .5 of
a second at
the indoor national high school championships in Landover, Maryland,
this
junior will be one of the favorites for every national 800m high
school
title in the next two years.
The indoor championships which came at the beginning of the Florida
outdoor
track season were a prelude to what has turned out to be an outstanding
year
so far for the humble and likable Cross. He has not only been dominant
in
his specialty, the 800m, but has shown a talent for a wide range
of
distances from the 400m to the 1600m/mile.
As evidence, take a look at some of the highlights of this season:
- At the Broward County Championships, he led his team to victory
and
school record (8:03) with a 1:49.6 split in the 4x800m, won the
1600m in
4:23( last lap of 59) and ran a then national leading time of
1:53.57 to win
a hotly contested 800m title over Tristan James( 1:54.7) of Ft.
Lauderdale
Dillard.
- He received the baton more than 100m behind and ran a torrid
4:12 ( last
lap 60) to help his team, South Plantation, win the DMR at the
Florida
Relays Class 4A Division and then split 48.0 in the 4x 400m( his
best open
400m is 48.45) relay.
- At the Mobile Meet of Champions, he won the mile, 4:20.87( last
lap of
59), and 800m, 1:51.66 ; the 800m time, a national leader, and
coming only 1
hour after his mile victory.
 The
performance at Mobile seemed much more impressive as I witnessed
Cross accepting a congratulatory hand shake and answering questions
from John Dye (left) immediately after
both victories with no apparent fatigue or oxygen debt from his
blistering homestretch efforts. (One must also be reminded that
Cross and his coach made a 10 hour drive to Mobile from South Florida
the day before).
So what are the plans for this gifted junior who defeated High
School All Americans John Jefferson, and Daniel Soule last year
while at Flanagan High and lost the indoor title narrowly to Richard
Smith (Alan Webb's teammate)
this year?
I spoke to him about his races in Mobile and his future plans.
RQ: You won the mile tonight(
at Mobile).Is the mile something that you want
to pursue?
PC: Yea. My coach wants me to
go after the state championship in the mile
and 800m. I think that will be the first time that it has been done
in class
4A. My coach really wants that to happen.
My coach also wants me to work the mile into my regimen to give
me more
experience and more endurance for the 800m. It’s something
that will help me
out. It’s something that we’re pursuing... the mile and
the 800.
RQ: How did the 800m go for
you tonight?( see the race recaps for splits and
observations)
PC: I wanted to take it easy
today. After the mile, I felt a little tired,
but when we did the first lap, I decided to push the first 200m
and then let
the guys take over at the 400m. After that I was like “ alright,
I'm going to
go the last 200m.” That was my game plan.
RQ: Going back to the mile.
Did the slow pace affect you?
PC: I was really looking forward
to a fast pace, but when I started getting
boxed in, I decided to take it easy and not jump out and ruin my
sprint. I
just tried to stay back and use my speed at the end to go the last
400.
RQ: You’ve run some really
good splits in relays. What are your goal times?
Is that something that you want to talk about?
PC: It doesn’t bother me(
talking about his goals). This year I want to go
for a 1:49 or 1:48 for the 800. I know that if I can run an 800m
fresh, I
think I can go sub 1:50. To do that in the state meet, I’ll
have to be
pushed, but at nationals when I’m fresh, I can run it open.
I can run sub
1:50 pretty easily. I’m not trying to be bigheaded saying I
can go under
1:50. It depends on the right time and the right situation.
RQ: Do you plan any other races
besides nationals in Raleigh?
PC: Definitely Golden South.
RQ: Will you do the 4x 800m
at state too?
PC: Yes.
RQ: One person that you will
be compared to a lot in the next two years is
Moise Joseph. Do you have any contact with him?
PC: We’re real close. That’s
my boy, right there. He mentored me when I was
a freshman and he taught me alot about form and strategy. He taught
me alot,
but I try to have my own style.
He used to be an even pace kind of guy and then kick on you. You
didn’t even
know you were being kicked on.
I like to be quick to the point. I like to strike a lot. He taught
me a lot.
Very experienced guy.
RQ: What do you think about
all the attention you are getting? How are you
handling that? It’s getting big here. You’re doing some
great things.
PC: One, every day I pray. That
helps me a lot.
Two. It feels good with the attention because I have an “X”
on me. Every
time I go out, people try to stay with me and that helps me. That
gets me
through a race because everyone is trying to push with me. It’s
great
competition.
A lot of guys down there in Florida, especially, are trying to get
their
names out there and they are doing a very good job this year.
RQ: What about next year? What
are your goals?
PC: This year. I really want
to win outdoor nationals. I came close
indoors. I don’t want to make any excuses, but a few mistakes
got me.
I want to repeat as state champ in the 800m and try to win the mile.
Next year, I really want to go for the national record in the 800m.
I think
it’s within my grasp. As long as I keep training, stay healthy
and eat right
I think I can get it.
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