During last week’s Weston Twilight Invitational, Everest Crawford got boxed at the start of the 800-meter run and never quite made it near the front of the pack until late in the race. Whether or not that was the determining factor in his eventual second-place finish, the Gloucester junior wasn’t about to let that happen again. Among the top contenders in the seeded mile at the MSTCA Coaches Invitational Saturday afternoon, Crawford established the front-runner position the minute the smoke cleared the gun and never relinquished his lead, cruising to a personal-best time of 4 minutes, 19.5 seconds. The Gloucester runner hit his opening 400m at 65 seconds and was 2:12 at 800m. Finishing second in the race was Swampscott senior Matt Mahoney at 4:22.69. Minnechaug Regional senior Russell Wells, who defeated Crawford at Twilight, was third in 4:23.69. The meet was held at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical’s athletic complex.
