Cross-country has come a long way / Once-nerdy sport gains popularity
Two yellow buses will pull up to Alamo Creek Park in Dublin today and out should march 115 teens clad in College Park High purple, silver and white.
This won't be botany field trip, ROTC training or a senior seminar.
It's the new wave of cross country -- by the masses.
College Park takes on Concord and Dublin in a three-way Diablo Foothill Athletic League meet that won't draw half as many fans as participants.
"Having our 115 kids walk into a place is probably going to be pretty intimidating (for opponents)," College Park coach Chuck Woolridge said. "Until we walk into Campolindo."
That's because Campolindo has a squad of 185. Other DFAL foes Miramonte and Acalanes also have more than 100 participants in an activity that was once harder to sell than the chess club. In fact, cross-country kids even have been described as the chess club in sneakers.
Now, the image is changing, the numbers are growing and the sport appears more fertile and healthy than ever.
Like the races themselves, numbers don't lie.
"When I first started 10 years ago, there were a couple-100-athlete teams in the entire Bay Area," Woolridge said. "Now we have three or four in our league alone.
"The sport is definitely flourishing."
So is the esteem of kids not traditionally loaded with it.
"It's way more cooler than it used to be," Menlo-Atherton coach Eric Wilmurt said. "When I first started coaching here, kids thought distance runners were nothing but crazy nuts. But now we live in a more fit world and young people realize that there's something to this running thing."
The higher numbers have translated to better performances.
At Saturday's De La Salle/Carondelet adidas Invitational at Newhall Park in Concord, Redwood senior Jake Schmitt ran with power and ease while shattering a course record by 21 seconds, finishing in 15 minutes, 4 seconds.
Among his competitors were a nationally ranked team, Christian Brothers of New Jersey, and the defending California Division I champion, Yosef Ghebray of James Logan.
Schmitt, whose mother and father were runners at Cal in the 1980s, said he has never enjoyed running so much. He finished third at state in Division III last year.
"Every year it's getting more popular," Schmitt said. "I think this Olympic year inspired a lot of athletes. I think we're catching up internationally and you're seeing a lot more motivated kids."
It has translated into some major accomplishments in the Bay Area.
Last year, College Park's girls ran the second-fastest team time in state history while taking the CIF Division II crown. Miramonte and University also won girls team titles and Saratoga's Alicia Follmar and Ghebray won state individual titles.
On Saturday, Maria Carrillo's girls won the Woodbridge Invitational, knocking off two nationally ranked teams in the process.
"The kids are absolutely faster and more talented," said Laura Schmitt, Jake's mother and Redwood cross-country coach from 1987 to 1993. "The kids are more driven, they have a greater work ethic and want to do well."
That might be because there is greater exposure, thanks, in part, to the Internet.
A Web site, www.dyestatcal.com, publishes results and photos on almost 30 meets a week, not to mention schedules, rankings and chat rooms. One of the Web site's founders, Rich Gonzalez, said he receives about 300 e-mails a weekend with results and inquiries.
"A Web site on cross country?" San Ramon Valley coach Tim Hunter whispered rhetorically. "Huh? When I went to school, there was no such interest."
With so much information available, University coach Jim Tracy said more kids are naturally going to be interested and motivated. His girls teams have won a record six state Division V titles and his boys teams have captured nine North Coast Section crowns.
"The old days there were two or three invitationals your teams could go to," Tracy said. "Now, there's multiple invitationals every weekend and that's because the information is out there and people want to improve outside of league."
One of the sport's main draws has always been the two-gender team aspect. That's nothing new.
"I tell the kids it's a lot like arranged dating without the pressures of dating," Tracy said.
Said Wilmurt: "I always ask the guys on campus, 'Why would you want to practice in double-days with a bunch of stinky football players when you can run alongside a nice young lady?' "