Submitted photo Gabe Winders, left, and Carter Smith run neck-and-neck to the finish line at the New Balance Grand Prix on Saturday.

BY BRIAN CARSON

Sentinel reporter

bcarson@lewistownsentinel.com

BOSTON — The sound inside the track at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix is different from most high school meets. It’s sharper, louder, more urgent. Every foot strike echoes. Every move is visible. There’s no hiding when the pace is honest, and the field is loaded with elite runners from across the country.

Carter Smith didn’t try to hide.

The Mifflin County senior finished second in the Junior Boys International Mile on Saturday in Boston, running 4:02.71 and missing the win by fifteen-hundredths of a second. Caleb Winders edged him at the line in 4:02.56. It was a race decided by inches and instincts, the kind that teaches more than it takes.

Smith went out with intent. His opening quarter was 58.96 seconds, followed by splits of 1:00.84 at the half and 1:02.56 through three quarters. When the bell rang, he still had something left, closing in at 59.10. The time was a new indoor personal best and one of the fastest miles ever run by a Mifflin County athlete, regardless of surface.

What made the performance stand out wasn’t the clock. It was the choice to go with the race early, to put himself in position where something special could happen.

“No one breaks four minutes playing it safe,” Mifflin County cross country coach Alex Monroe said. “Every second counts, and it takes experience and different tactics over those fifth and sixth laps, which he’s learning.”

This was not a sit-and-kick race. The field was deep, the pacer aggressive, and the opportunity clear. Smith followed the pacer through 800 meters in 1:59, right where he needed to be if the sub-4 dream would be real. When the pacer stepped off, the race shifted.

“He was perfect through 800,” Monroe said. “But when the pacer dropped, we fell asleep up front. At that point, the rest of the field had latched back on, and it took getting passed for him to wake back up.”

That moment mattered. In elite miles, hesitation is an invitation. Smith learned the hard way, getting challenged late and caught at the line. But even in defeat, there was progress. The race demanded aggression, and Smith answered it.

“I think my performance was solid,” Smith said. “4:02 at this time of year is a confidence booster. I went for it and took the race out hot, made some tactical errors and ended up getting beaten at the line. Once I fix some tactics, I should be good. Also, it was a great experience.”

Those tactical errors weren’t about fitness. They were about timing and awareness that only comes from racing fast people in big moments. Monroe saw familiar echoes.

“It reminded me a lot of his Penn Relays mile last outdoors,” Monroe said. “And we all know how he turned that second place into fuel for the future.”

That’s been the pattern with Smith. Each near miss sharpens him. Each big stage leaves something behind that shows up later when it matters most. He’s learning how races unfold when everyone is good.

The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix is one of those meets that strips things down. The lights are brighter. The margin is thinner. The mistakes are exposed. Smith left Boston knowing exactly what needs cleaning up, and that’s a powerful place to be with February still young.

“These are all easy things to clean up,” Monroe said. “And I’m really proud of him for going with the pacer and giving himself a chance at sub-4. He now has a new 4:02 indoor PR to show for it.”

That chance matters. Even without the win, Smith proved he belongs in those races, in those fields, under that pressure. For a runner from a small Pennsylvania program, it’s validation.

Now the focus shifts. The high school season doesn’t stop for national stages. Relays are coming. The state meet is close. There’s still sharpening to do.

“Time to shift focus to our relay and tuning up, as our state meet is right around the corner,” Monroe said.

Boston didn’t give Smith everything he wanted. It gave him something better. Proof that he’s close. Proof that the next step is real. And proof that playing it safe would never be the answer anyway.

Second place rarely feels like victory in the moment. But sometimes it’s the result that points most clearly toward what’s next.