E.B. Frink Middle School eighth-grader Blake Crawford won the 12U Road Runner competition in Cooperstown, N.Y. Aug. 10, and posted the second-fastest time this season. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News

By Junious Smith III

One of the fastest 12-year-old baseball players in the nation attends E.B. Frink Middle School.

Blake Crawford, who will be an eighth-grader when school resumes next week, won the Road Runner competition at Cooperstown Dreams Park in New York Aug. 10. Crawford had a first heat with 103 other participants before the field was narrowed to eight, then six for the finals.

Crawford ran the race in 11.90 seconds, the second-fastest time of the season so far — out of more than 1,300 participants — and was 0.25 off the all-time record, set in 2015 by South Carolina’s Ben Rollins and matched a year later by Illinois’ Davion Cherwin.

Crawford, who plays for the Carolina Rage, won the competition where participants had to run around the bases with the fastest time winning the competition.  

“To finish with the fastest time out of everyone else that day meant a lot,” Crawford said.

Crawford has already made great strides with Frink, starting in centerfield as a sixth-grader and leading the team in batting average last season. He said speed has been his greatest attribute and it’s helped his game both offensively and defensively.

“I can steal a lot of bases and get around the bases faster, which leads to more runs,” Crawford said. “I can also read the ball better in the outfield and cover more ground.”

David Crawford, Blake’s father, said his son didn’t know what to expect at the competition initially and had some jitters going in.

“We talked about it beforehand and he was nervous,” his father said. “Expectations were high for him, but I told him to just stay calm. Everyone knew he was fast and we felt like he would make the finals, but to win by nearly half a second is amazing.”

Blake Crawford, who has played the game since he was 6, said he loves the sport and will continue playing.

“There’s a lot of activity — you’re always doing something and there aren’t a lot of breaks in the game,” Crawford said.