Graham Ford: Pushing to keep state title at Deerfield Windsor

Deerfield Windsor’s Graham Ford is working to get his team back to another state championship later this fall and knows he has work to do. Deerfield Windsor will host the state cross country championship on November 2 at Albany State West. They recently held the Deerfield Windsor Invitational on the same route of the state championship and the team that is most likely to challenge the Knights came from Augusta to run the course as well. Augusta Prep’s top two runners finished first and second.

“I need to do better,” Ford said recently before a practice at Albany State West. “I have to run smarter.”

Ford is a junior at Deerfield Windsor and was one of the teams’ top runners last year when the Knights edged Augusta Prep for the GISA Class AAA state championship last year. Ford and the Knights want to repeat, but the recent head to head matchup with Augusta Prep looked to have a slight edge. Augusta Prep had five runners in the top ten at the recent Deerfield Windsor Invitational – including the top two runners – Tripp Hayes who finished first with a 16:52 time and Ben Monning with a 17:01 time. Ford finished sixth with a time of 17:40 – and two teammates – Jon Durham and Porter Hill finished slightly in front of him.

“That wasn’t a good time for me,” said Ford. “I can run better than that.”

“Graham knew coming into this season that he needs to be a guy who can run at the front of the pack,” said head coach Jake Clawson. “He put in a serious summer and ran between 50 and 60 miles a week. He’s as fit as he’s ever been, and I think that it’s going to pay off soon. He’s due to throw down a fast time.”

Ford got his start in running when he joined the running club in fifth grade because all of his friends joined. He said he started getting serious about running in eighth grade. He is hoping his running will take him to a college scholarship and be able to compete on the collegiate level.

“I like running because it can show progress you are making,” Ford said. “I like to be able to compete as part of team and push for championships. That and my coach motivates me to keep pushing. I have a lot improving to do to get the college scholarship offers. I have to do more distance training and keep running and improving all the time. I need to make big improvements. If not, maybe I will walk-on.”

Ford is hoping to run at one of the schools he has already visited – Georgia, Auburn, or Clemson.

Ford is the son of Todd and Misty Ford and has set a goal to break a time of 17 minutes this season.

Special Photo: Deerfield-Windsor