Foothill's Schwartz adds to his running legend
| Saturday, Jun 06 2009 11:07 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Jun 06 2009 11:12 PM
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Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Chris Schwartz from Foothill High crosses the finish line winning the 3200-meter race in a personal best time at the CIF 2009 State Championships.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Chris Schwartz from Foothill High is exhausted after battling for the lead and taking the championship of the 3200-meter race in a personal best time at the CIF 2009 State Championships.
CLOVIS -- No matter how much speed -- and how much pain -- it took Chris Schwartz was not going to end his Foothill career with anything but a state championship.
And he got it, thanks to a thrilling victory in the 3,200-meter state final Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Schwartz ran a personal-record 8:51.60, the third-best high school time in the nation this year and a couple of seconds better than Collin Jarvis of Vista-Rancho Buena Vista, who ran 8:53.78.
"I wanted it really bad," Schwartz said. "I wanted it so bad that I just wouldn't stop listening to my coach. It's awesome. It's finally here."
Schwartz won the Division I state cross country title as a junior and took second in the 3,200 last year to German Fernandez's national record, but Schwartz had slipped under the radar in this race. He hadn't run anything faster than a 9:20.22 this year while some of his competition -- Jarvis included -- had routinely run sub-9 minutes.
"Last year, I knew I'd be out-run by German Fernandez," Schwartz said. "I just wanted to stay with him, and I couldn't. This year my goal was to make sure I got first."
All the talk about other runners didn't stop Schwartz from running toward the front of the pack from the start of the race. He first took the lead just as the first 1,600 meters was ending, and ran in the front for the next two laps.
He and Jarvis, who were separated from the field, traded the lead twice on the seventh lap, but it looked like the San Diego-area star had taken control with about 500 meters to go.
Too soon.
"Everyone tells me I have one of the top kicks in the distance," Schwartz said. "So I kind of found that kick."
Schwartz used it with about 150 meters to go and passed Jarvis as if he were standing still. The lead increased down the homestretch and the crowd roared as the Foothill senior extended his lead until the finish line. Afterward, he collapsed in triumph and pain.
"It didn't hurt bad until I got done running," he said afterward, with a laugh.
And so Schwartz's high school career ended with a bang. The foster child and one-time orphan will head to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo next year not only as a cross country star but as a two-time California champion.
"It felt great," he said. "I've been waiting for this moment for quite a while now."
