Daniel Hargadon is far too young to run the Suffolk YMCA. But on Wednesday night, he ran the facility’s pool tables.

Last week, a supervisor at the Y told the King’s Fork High School student, 16, about an upcoming pool tournament.

&uot;If I entered, I thought I’d have some competition,&uot; he said. &uot;Pool’s fun, and it keeps me going. There’s a lot of thinking.&uot;

After a few hours of basketball, Hargadon racked the balls for his first game early Wednesday evening. He ran the table in his first game, then needed just three shots to take the second. But the third time was not a charm.

&uot;I almost scratched the eight-ball on my first shot,&uot; he said.

His opponent got down to two balls, but Hargadon managed to slap in four straight to take the game and get within a win of the title.

&uot;I knew he was good,&uot; he said of his last opponent. &uot;I’d seen him run the table and I knew he’d be going down with me.&uot;

Hargadon didn’t knock in any balls on his original break, but his opponent sank five in a row. Then Hargadon got four of his own, but missed his chance to run away with the game.

&uot;It was a duck,&uot; he said of his blown shot. &uot;It was an easy one.&uot;

His opponent got down to the eight ball, but one of Hargadon’s balls was between the cue and the black ball. The opponent played it safe, hitting the ball near the right rail.

&uot;I cut my shot down (to get the first ball in),&uot; he said. &uot;Then I banked another and hit in my third one.&uot;

That left him with a clear shot into the left corner, and Hargadon nailed it to take the tournament. He won a Titanium cue stick.

&uot;I’ve used it a couple of times,&uot; he said. &uot;It works pretty good.&uot;

jason.norman@suffolknewsherald.com