Disappointing end drives returning girls
By Kyle LoJacono
The Steinbrenner girls cross country team faced opposite extremes during the last two weeks of the 2011 season.
The Warriors experienced the euphoria of claiming their first district championship, the Class 3A-District 8 crown. A week later they were left wondering how their season could be over a step shy of the state meet.
Steinbrenner had reached the Class 2A final the year before, where the Warriors finished 22nd.
“It was really a good season last year,” said senior Caroline Murray. “Winning districts was really nice because we were able to beat King, which was our biggest competitor. It was kind of a disappointing end to our season because we didn’t get to states. It wasn’t a great end, but overall last season was amazing. We all trained so hard and had a lot more difficult workouts.”
The fact that the runners expect to make it to states is a testament to how far the program has come since the school opened in 2009. For coach Ladd Baldwin, who opened the program after spending 12 years coaching at Gaither, the challenges have been great building Steinbrenner cross country.
“We’ve got several really successful teams at this school, so sometimes it’s tough to have a kid run because they’ve played another sport for a long time,” Baldwin said. “I always let them do whatever else they need to if they want to run with us.”
In 2009 when Baldwin ran the boys and girls program, the veteran coach had 54 runners total and only two of the girls had any cross country experience.
This season Baldwin has 42 girls.
“I like big numbers because I always think I can develop somebody, and the more the merrier,” Baldwin said. “The other thing is it’s not always about winning, which we as coaches struggle with. It’s also about a life experience that we have to do something, and why not have 40 kids who are excited.”
Baldwin, who teaches in Steinbrenner’s athletic department, keeps his eye out for anyone who can add to the squad. He found Haven Talley during her freshman season while conducting a fitness test.
“I was trying to get her to run with us for two years before she came out last year,” Baldwin said. “She told me she was a cheerleader and did other things. I kept telling her she needs to run, and now she’s one of our best runners. … She’s still new to cross country, but she’s done so much with leadership and getting faster that she’s earned that place where she’s at. She’s also our second best runner in the 2-mile in track. The talent is there.”
Talley has earned enough respect to be named a team captain.
“I’m so exciting being team captain this year,” Talley said. “Last year I was moving my way up with the team because it was my first year running cross country. I didn’t really know the right techniques, so I’m really excited to be a team captain.”
Murray and fellow senior Lauren Garris, the squad’s No. 1 runner, have also increased their leadership role in pushing the younger runners.
“Each senior was in charge of a specific group of younger girls,” Murray said. “In the summer we tried to run the most mileage and each team was competing.”
The training sessions are much more intense compared to three seasons ago.
“Now the workouts the freshmen are doing are a lot tougher,” Baldwin said. “Back then we couldn’t do the things we’re doing now. When you start off with tougher workouts, then when you improve by 10 percent it’s a much better time.”
Murray said the increase in effort has come from Baldwin’s coaching and a desire from the runners to advance the program.
“Starting our freshman year we definitely weren’t as serious as a team,” Murray said. “It’s been really nice to be able to grow with literally the same girls since freshman year. The team has been almost the same except for the few seniors who graduated last year. We’ve really just become more serious. We started not really knowing what cross country was, and now we love running.”
As the team’s size and workout intensity has increased, the Warriors’ top runners have seen their times shrink.
Murray’s personal record (PR) in a 5-kilometer race is 21 minutes 52 seconds and has the goal of dropping it to less than 20 minutes. Talley’s PR is 20:15 with a goal of getting in the low 19s. Lauren has cut her PR to 19:30.
The Warriors return six of their top seven athletes. The squad lost No. 7 runner Salina Garris, Lauren’s twin, after she graduated a year early. She is currently attending Florida State University.
Baldwin also sees a number of his sophomores pushing the older runners.
“I hope my sophomores kick butt,” Baldwin said. “I’ve got some good ones who are coming along slowly, but no one knows about them. … Right now Julia Malone is really doing well, and she’s so competitive. The other day we were running and she was looking around and asked me if she could make varsity. I said, ‘Why not?’I’ve been encouraging the younger girls to not just be happy with winning the (junior varsity) race.”
Baldwin said it’s that push to constantly improve that will get Steinbrenner to the next level.
“I can always have eight to 10 girls who can run well; I got to figure out how to move my top five,” Baldwin said. “We’ll show up and be respectable. We were third in the county and won districts last year, but when are we ready to move to top five at state or better? That’s when I’ll know and the girls will know we’re really doing the things we need to.”
