Edison's Chris Smith voted MyCentralJersey.com Athlete of the Week

Not even a wrong turn can keep Edison's Chris Smith from victory.

Last Saturday the senior took a wrong turn during the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational cross country race, but still ended up in first place, winning in a time of 16:21, which was his best time of the season and a personal best by 25 seconds. 

It was Smith's first big victory of the season after winning a few dual meets in the Greater Middlesex Conference. 

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For his efforts, Smith was voted the MyCentralJersey.com Athlete of the Week. Smith won 30.3 percent of the vote, narrowly beating out Sayreville boys soccer player Zach Colgan by 21 votes. 

"He most definitely sets the tone as far as training," Edison cross country coach Patrick McCaffery said of Smith. "He’s the hardest working kid on the team. He also brings some levity, he’s a funny kid, he brings some character to the team. He is a team captain and he leads by example, he works hard."  

Smith, who has participated in spring track all four years of high school, only started running cross country as a junior after playing soccer his freshman and sophomore year. 

He said he started running cross country because he enjoyed track and field, and his older brother ran cross country.

"I like the racing atmosphere and the encouragement you get from all of the runners who don’t go to your school," Smith said. "It’s a lot different (from track), with track you run as fast as you can until the race is over, in cross country you have to pace yourself and make smart decisions."

On Saturday at the Six Flags Invitational, Smith said he led the entire race, and his wrong turn didn't hinder him at all. 

"It went well, I went in knowing I had the potential to win and I went out with a strong start and kept the lead, I make a wrong turn but I managed to make up the time," Smith said. "On the course there’s a lot of uphill and downhill, and on the downhill I went faster and eventually they all stopped following me, so at that point I knew I had the potential to win. It was a great feeling and it’s something that I will continue to work hard for."

Smith has some lofty goals for this season, and McCaffery says he believes that all of his hard work will pay off. 

"He is really dedicated, he goes out and does extra work. He went to a cross country camp, he goes and seeks out extra workouts, he went to a strength trainer," McCaffery said. "He is motivated and determined, he has goals he wants to reach and he’s doing pretty much anything he can to get to them."

Smith and the rest of the team will head to the Shore Conference Coaches Invitational this weekend at Holmdel Park. Smith ran there for the first time last year and placed in the top 30, and he's confident last year's experience will help him do even better this year. 

"I have the knowledge to run a faster pace on the course," Smith said. 

Besides running well at Holmdel on Saturday, Smith is aiming to win the GMC Championships on Oct. 21, with the end goal being a spot in the Meet of Champions at the end of the season. 

"It’s rewarding and good to see it work out and him reach his goals and the plan come together," McCaffery said. "It’s fantastic and I hope it continues, he has more things he’s trying to do and we’re just trying to help him get there."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego