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Now a Tufts sophomore, Freeport's Logan Crane is back on track physically and mentally.

By RACHEL LENZI, Staff Write March 31, 2008

For a short time, Logan Crane was concerned that she would never be able to repeat the success she had as a sprinter in high school.

After she tore her right hamstring during the Western Maine Conference indoor track and field championships in February 2006, Crane, a Freeport High graduate, returned to competition that fall as a member of the Tufts University indoor team but quickly found that she had lost a step in her usually rapid stride.

Crane set four state records during her high school career, but at Tufts she faced not only the challenge of adjusting to college, but also returning to competitive form after suffering what could have been a career-ending injury.

Now a sophomore at Tufts, Crane is running fast again. She competed in the 55-meter dash at the NCAA Division III indoor championships after helping Tufts capture the New England Division III title. At the New England meet, Crane won the 55 (7.18 seconds) and the long jump (17 feet, 6 inches), finished second in the 200 (25.62), and anchored the second-place 1,600 relay team.

Her success came after a freshman year in which she struggled to regain her form.

"Physically, the workload was fine, but mentally I was struggling," Crane said. "It wasn't the workouts. It was the fact that I wasn't where I was before the injuries. I wasn't as fast as I was before."

Still, she was determined to improved.

"I was sick of not performing well," said Crane, a political science major.

From December to the end of February, Crane shaved more than three-tenths of a second off her time in the 55.

"She made the jump from around 7.40 to 7.30 (in the 55), and after she hit 7.30 she never ran slower," said Tufts Coach Kristen Morwick. "Her confidence was back.

"She smashed a very long-standing school record (in the 55) and was three-hundredths of a second from breaking the 200 record. She's been really dominant this year."

Morwick attributes Crane's success not only to her growing confidence, but also to a structured training routine.

"She's stronger, she's more fit, and at that point in the season we're focusing on speed, not so much on workout volume," Morwick said. "Once we improved the quality of her workouts in practice, the time came.

"She also rises to the occasion. At New Englands, she wanted to win and she did. As a competitor, she just turns it on."

Crane finished her freshman indoor season with personal-best times of 7.38 in the 55 and 26.68 in the 200. Outdoors, her best times were 12.62 in the 100 and 26.08 in the 200.

Crane took on a training regimen that included more stretching and more emphasis on flexibility, and incorporated 400-meter intervals into her training.

"It took me a long time to get back, but finally, I put all my frustration back into my training," Crane said. "I was doing 4-by-4s, 400s, and I built a lot of endurance and built a lot more body mass, muscle-wise.

"The 400 trains you for any sprint. I felt a lot more powerful and a lot stronger."

Crane also has had to adjust to facing stronger competition.

"When I was in high school, I was the leader of the pack," Crane said. "I never had to compete with anyone. I trained for three years with me always being out in front of everyone. Every race here, someone has been by my side."

Morwick believes Crane has just started to reach her full potential as a sprinter.

"It's hard to be in the mix with people who are all dominant," Morwick said. "She doesn't know how to respond to that and it's a learning process. Once she feels dominant, she'll respond to that and she'll feel more confident."

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:
rlenzi@pressherald.com