Ever since Dirk Crater began running at Crothersville High School, he often told his coach, Carl Bowman, that he wanted to break a school record.

After a solid freshman season, Crater really took a big jump into his sophomore year. The thought of potentially getting a record was within reach as he trained for this track and field season.

But before this season started, Bowman died on Jan. 23 at the age of 69.

It was a tough few months for Crater training without his coach, but he was more determined than ever to reach his goal.

At the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional on May 18, Crater ran a time of 10:11.29 in the 3200 to break the school record that was set in 1985 at 10:22.

“I told my coach, Carl Bowman, that I wanted to break a school record, and I wanted him to see it,” Crater said. “He passed away, so it was an emotional winter, but I knew I had to do it for him.”

When Crater crossed that finish line at the sectional, a range of emotions came over him.

“Breaking the school record at sectional, I cried, and it was probably the best moment of my running career,” he said.

Crater was fourth place in that race, and even though top three automatically qualify for the regional, Crater’s time was fast enough that he earned a spot at the regional, as well.

On Thursday night at the Bloomington North Regional, Crater re-broke the record, running 10:07.54 to place 15th overall.

“We got here and I was just amazed. It’s a big school coming from Crothersville. There are less people in Crothersville than there is at this school,” Crater said of his regional experience. “So it was just an amazing place to run at. Great track, great people, and for a sophomore at Crothersville, it was shocking.”

The dedication Crater has for running hasn’t always been there. He’s not afraid to admit he didn’t take the sport as serious as he should have when he started in fifth grade.

“I was never very good at it,” Crater said. “I was always in the back of the pack, I would never finish top 15 and I wasn’t very good at it and never took it seriously. Then we got to my sophomore year, and I had one heck of a year, so I said, ‘We’re going to take this seriously.’”

Every morning before school, Crater wakes up and runs on his own. He gets back home, goes to school and then runs again after school.

In the winter, Crater has to fit basketball practice into his schedule, and in the spring, he plays baseball.

This past Wednesday before Crater competed in the track regional, he played in the Tigers’ baseball sectional game against Henryville, where he had two hits, two RBI and one run.

A lot of the running training he does is by himself, and throughout the regular season, Crater doesn’t see the same competition he does at sectional and regional.

He said being able to race with some of the faster times in the state really helped push him to go faster.

“It helps you tremendously having people to pace you,” Crater said. “I started the season running 12 minutes in the two mile, so I didn’t think I’d even come close (to the record). I had a race where I broke 11 minutes, I was in the 10:40s, then in the race against Austin, I was two seconds away, and I said, ‘OK, we’re going to go for it.’”

Crater certainly went for it as he broke the 37-year-old record by 11 seconds, and then again by 15 seconds.

And with two years left in his high school running career, Crater has ambitious goals the rest of the way.

“I want to break 16 minutes in a 5K, be Jackson County Runner of the Year and make state,” Crater said as he looked forward to his junior year cross-country season.

For track, since he already has the 3200 record, Crater wants to try to break the 800 record (2:04.67) and 1600 record (4:37.4), and he wants to try to break a relay record with three other teammates.

It’s a lot to accomplish, but Crater takes this sport seriously now, and he remains motivated to get faster every single day.