After sharing the state championship spotlight with ex-teammate Sophia Ruiz, this year was supposed to be Caitlin Barrow’s to claim what had slipped past her the year before.
During her freshman year, Barrow helped revive returning sprinter Ruiz. The two of them enjoyed competing at last year’s state championships.
Barrow qualified in the long jump, high jump and the 1,600-meter relay team with Ruiz, who is now running for CSU Chico.
“In my eleven years in coaching , Barrow is probably the most able athlete I’ve ever had,” assistant coach Kevin Hughley said.
“Barrow is our team leader out there on the field,” coach Dean Lofgren said. “She’s a good multi-event person. She’s our backbone.”
Once again Barrow was among the state’s leaders in the 400 meter, long jump, high jump and the 1,600-meter relay where she was teamed with Krystal Johnson, Lyndsey Brown and Shameer Johnson. She has also regularly competes in up to five events.
The team will be competing in the Southern California Championships Saturday in Bakersfield.
“I love the exercise,” Barrow said, I love competing,” Barrow has also placed herself on the EC all time top 10 list in the high jump with a 5 feet 3 inches. Her achievements on the track go along with maintaining above a 3.5 GPA.
Barrow won the Norm Verry scholarship this year for athletic and academic achievement. She has chosen business as her major, and set a goal for herself to get a track scholarship. While Cal State Long Beach, CSU Los Angeles and CSU Dominguez Hills all inquired about Barrow, she is leaning toward CSU Los Angeles or CSU Dominguez Hills.
“She comes in and prepares herself like a mature athlete; she takes practice very seriously,” assistant coach Denise Diego said. “She’s a dream to coach.”
Along with the glory comes the aches and pains. Having shinsplints and having to sprint; cramping up after a run and getting ready for the next event. “You have to have a strategy, and follow it,” Barrow said.
In addition, Barrow has been nursing a sore right ankle since late March, which has hampered her running.
“At first, my ankle was just sore,” Barrow said. “I would over compensate for the sore ankle and end up hurting the other. It’s been tough the last couple of weeks.”
After last week’s championships, Barrow wasn’t able to advance in the high jump and long jump, missing both events by a slim margin.
Barrow says she practices around four hours a day and up to five days a week with meets on the weekend. Her intensity in practice has worn off on the others.
“Lyndsey Brown and Barrow feed off each other,” Diego said. “They both have that, ‘I’m hurt but I have to finish attitude.'”
In Barrow’s senior year of high school, she took second in conference championship in the high jump. Going into her first year at EC, Barrow said she was nervous about making the track team since colleges weren’t knocking on her door. She said she knew she had to take the shot, though.
“I was excited that fall to see her name on the roster,” Hughley said. “The more we practiced, the more I could see she could run.”
Entering her freshman year of high school, Barrow was kicked in the back during an AAU soccer game and suffered a stress fracture.
She would be away from athletics for three years, but her competitive nature would not allow her to stay away. In her senior year, she joined the track team at Mira Costa.
“I decided it was my last year and I wanted to do something,” Barrow said. “I wanted to do runs and get into shape.”
Hughley said that Barrow is ahead of some of the athletes he has taught.
“I think it takes a year of college to understand what competition at this level is,” Hughley said. “It didn’t take Barrow a year.”
