I
t’s just past quitting time on the grassy knoll in front of Campolindo High School in picturesque Moraga. A throng of freshmen football players are refining special teams coverage. Parents in adjoining parking lot wait in luxurious cars for pickup. And the 100-member-strong cross-country teams stretch following a lengthy 9-mile workout on this bright and warm late summer’s afternoon. “Maintenance,” said Chuck Woolridge, the sixth-year coach of the one of the state’s top cross-country programs. “Gotta do maintenance. It’s all about the little things.” Carrie Verdon isn’t quite ready for her maintenance regime. She still jogs around the parameter of the school while her teammates warm down. What gives, coach? She can’t get enough? Obsessive-compulsive? Discipline problems?
Woolridge laughs. “We train by minutes rather than miles,” he said. “She spent five minutes (with reporters). She’s just finishing up her time.” Did he tell her to keep running? More laughter. “I reminded her, but she would have done it anyway,” Woolridge said. “She never misses a day, a workout, a maintenance session. She is the most dedicated athlete I’ve ever coached.” Woa-ho-ho-ho now! Coming from Wooldridge, that’s saying something. He’s coached cross-country and track and field for 16 seasons and helped to build running dynasties at both College Park and Campolindo. He’s trained some of the region’s most devoted and successful athletes, including Lindsay Allen, a former state 1,600-meter runner-up for College Park who later starred at Stanford and recently signed a professional contract with Nike. Allen has always been the region’s poster girl for distance excellence and work ethic and style and grace. And now, in Verdon, Woolridge has at least her equal, a humble, hard-working, utterly devoted gracious athlete who enters her senior year as one of the top 10 distance runners in the country. “I felt incredibly lucky to have coached one athlete at that level,” Woolridge said. “To have two. … it’s beyond words. It’s just fantastic. And the best part is that both are such great kids with so much character who come from such great families.” After two promising and accomplished seasons while being introduced to the sport, Verdon catapulted into the national stage winning the CIF State Division III crosscountry title in 17 minutes, 15 seconds at Woodward Park in Clovis — the second fastest time of the day — while leading her team to a state championship over favored Palos Verdes. “That was the very best,” Verdon said. “There were so many tears — tears of joy. I remember my teammates racing up to me asking, ‘Did you win, did you win?’ And I remember saying ‘Yes, did we win, did we win?’ ” Verdon didn’t win the next three weeks but made her national mark. She placed fourth at the Foot Locker West Regionals and 19th at Foot Locker Nationals. And she backed that up with perhaps an even better track and field season, taking one of 22
SportStars™
September 22, 2011
got really fit and put in lots of miles and now I’m even more excited to see what’s in store for the future.” Her goals in cross country are to help the Cougars repeat as state champions, win state individually, place in the top three regionally and top 10 nationally. Track wise, don’t be surprised if she tries to double, but with Simi Valley sophomore phenom Sarah Baxter around, she’ll be chasing a rabbit. Either way, Woolridge won’t put anything past his star pupil. “She’s already top 10 nationally in cross country,” he said. “She’ll likely be mid-4:40s in the mile and around 10 in the two mile. With her work ethic, who knows how much faster she can go.”
Hooked On Running
the most impressive distance doubles in North Coast Section history, winning the Meet of Champions 1600 in 4:51.80 and coming back less than two hours later to capture the 3200 in 10:41.50. She dropped the 1600 the following week to focus on the 3200 for the state championships, and it paid off tremendously as Verdon took almost 20 seconds off her best time to take third in 10:22.50 – the 16th best mark in the country. “I was really happy and excited with my junior season,” Verdon said. “All the hard work and attention to detail paid off. I
Verdon picked up the sport as a freshman only after her brother Spencer and parents Lisa and Wayne talked her into it. Her parents are active cyclists and Wayne played soccer and rugby as a youth in England. Lisa, a Southern California native, loved to dance. Spencer, now a student at the University of Oregon, had a great cross-country experience at Campolindo and thought little sister would benefit as well. Verdon, who tried all sports as a youth growing up in the Oakland hills — volleyball, basketball, figure skating, horseback riding and especially soccer — was partially enthusiastic to the new sport. She was downright reluctant, however, the first day of practice as a ninth-grader. “I remember it was really hot and two weeks before school started,” she said. “(Woolridge) had us wearing sweats and I thought there was better things to do. “But I remember my parents telling me that it would get easier and as I started making new friends on the team, and I heard that (Woolridge) really cared about his athletes. I basically got hooked.” By the end of her freshman season she was the team’s top runner. She took third at NCS and was 11th at state, one spot from medaling. Her time of 18:19 was more than a minute faster than any of her teammates. Woolridge could see the promise. “She had great talent but more important, she had great mentors on the team,” he said. “I think she’s never forgot that. Upload photos and team stats! www.SportStarsOnline.com