Oakland Tech Girls Looking To Change Perceptions

By Mark Wang for DyeStat

The Oakland Section holds a significant place in the rich history of California high school track and field, producing numerous state individual and relay champions, along with its crowning achievement of Skyline High winning the girls state team title in 1994.

Since the CIF state cross country meet was first held in 1987, the section hasn’t been able to achieve similar success at the fall championship event, with no boys or girls team ever placing in the top 10 in its division at the November finals. Of the 10 sections in California, Oakland is the only one yet to have a program reach such a prestigious level.

But that drought might finally be ending this season, with the Oakland Tech girls cross country team looking clear that historic hurdle after inching closer to the memorable goal over the past few seasons.

Last year, the Bulldogs placed 11th in Division 1 with 296 points, six points shy of 10th-place Dana Hills.

Since coach Richie Boulet arrived in 2014, the Bulldogs have placed 19th in 2015, 17th in 2016 and finally 11th last year. Their performance last season was the highest finish by an Oakland Section school in either gender across all divisions in the meet’s 31-year history.

“They’re very motivated for sure. But they’re all pretty intrinsically motivated to train anyway,” Boulet said. “If anything, we’ve had to try to settle some of them down so they don’t do too much over the summer.”

The Bulldogs have an experienced lineup returning this year, with their projected top five all having participated at the state meet, led by senior Caroline Garrett, who finished 10th in the Division 1 final last season by clocking 17 minutes, 57.2 seconds on the 5-kilometer course at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Fellow seniors Emily Mansell and Ayla Frost also ran at the state final last year, along with sophomores Quinn Sedlachek and Maya Ades. Seniors Sela Roach and Nell Schafer provide added depth for a group that is seeking a fourth consecutive Oakland Section title and sixth in program history.

“Just knowing what the (state) course is like, how fast the first mile is, and even what it smells like on the starting line, will be an asset,” Boulet said. “They can practice it mentally over and over, so when it happens for real, they won’t be as overwhelmed as they were the first time they ran it.”

Boulet, 45, has experience competing at both the CIF state cross country meet, along with the track and field championships, during his career at Sir Francis Drake. He placed third in the Division 4 cross country final in 1990 and followed with a fifth-place effort in the 1,600-meter state championship in 1991.

Following his prep career, Boulet competed at University of California at Berkeley, becoming the first athlete in program history for the Golden Bears to earn All-America honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. As a professional, Boulet produced a total of four top-five finishes in the 1,500 or mile at USATF Championship events.

Prior to arriving at Oakland Tech, Boulet coached at Sir Francis Drake, St. Mary’s Berkeley, as well as volunteering at Cal while he was training professionally. He’s also coached post-collegiate athletes in events ranging from the 1,500 all the way to the marathon.

But Boulet knows that enjoying prosperity on the track doesn’t necessarily equate to coaching success.

“I’ll be the first person to tell you that just having run fast definitely does not qualify one to be a good coach.” Boulet said. “I felt like I needed to earn their trust as someone who cared about their progress, and had a sensible approach to training that kept them healthy and running their best at the end of the season.

“I know I have to keep doing right by them to hold on to it.”

Boulet credits the Bulldogs’ recent success to the culture and foundation that the program has built up over the years, including the work put forth by former head coach David Murphy and current assistant Laura Davis.

Boulet has also relied on the experience in recent years of another former Cal runner Bolota Asmerom, a 1995 alumni of McAteer High in San Francisco, as well as 2009 St. Mary’s Berkeley graduate Alice Baker, who ran at University of San Francisco.

“Those girls are just as responsible for the culture as the coaches are,” Boulet said. “But we’ve sort of employed a tag-team approach to coaching, since none of us are really able to be there every single day. I only really became ‘head’ coach in the last year or two.”

Garrett cites the camaraderie and chemistry shared by her teammates, along with discipline and commitment that have enabled Oakland Tech to continue to improve each year, regardless of which coach is leading daily workouts.

“Throughout my time on the Oakland Tech cross country team, there has been both change and continuity. What has remained constant is the strong sense of family among the girls,” Garrett said. “I hold myself and my team to high standards because I know that is what it takes to be a successful team. We are all motivated to get in the workouts and mileage and core so that we can be strong, fast, and healthy when the season comes. It is important that we all hold each other accountable, so the whole team has high expectations for each other because we know cross country is a team sport and requires full dedication from everyone.”

Although Oakland Tech features an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students, there are currently fewer than 20 girls on the cross country roster, which allows for a strong bond among Garrett and her teammates.

“It’s a very tightly knit group of really great kids,” Boulet said. “They set high expectations for each other, but support each other at the same time. They have fun together when they’re not running, as well.”

After several weeks of quality workouts, Oakland Tech will finally have an opportunity to test its fitness Saturday at the Ed Sias Invitational on the grueling 2-mile course at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez, Calif.

“For us, summer training is about putting in the miles in order to build a healthy base for the hefty cross country workouts to be done in the fall,” Garrett said. “The summer has also always been an important time for building team camaraderie.”

It will be the first of many opportunities for Garrett to challenge herself against elite competition in Northern California in preparation for not only the Division 1 state final, but perhaps a return trip in December to the Foot Locker West Regional, where she finished 19th last season. Oakland Tech is also scheduled to race Sept. 29 at the Stanford Invitational after the meet was canceled last season.

“Caroline Garrett has the best chance to get some kind of offer, and she’s going to be a really competitive D-1 runner, especially once she gets the chance to really run some high mileage and race longer than 5K,” Boulet said. “They all have had attention from various colleges. They all love running and they all want to find a spot that’s right for them.”

Having already achieved all-state individual honors last year, Garrett is even more motivated to help Oakland Tech receive similar notoriety as a team at the Nov. 24 final at Woodward Park.

“This fall, we hope to improve on our 11th-place finish in the CIF Division 1 state championships (last year),” Garrett said. “We are hoping to crack into the top five this year. In addition, our goal is to defend our Oakland Section title en route to state.”

If the Bulldogs can take the biggest step forward in program history by not only achieving their breakthrough into the top 10, but possibly challenging for a podium finish, then Oakland Tech might be included in the conversation for a potential at-large berth to run Dec. 1 at Nike Cross Nationals.

That kind of recognition seemed out of reach when Boulet arrived at Oakland Tech in 2014, but the Bulldogs just want to continue to seize their opportunities and embrace the journey, wherever and however far it takes them.

“It’s hard to really have specific goals beyond state for us as a team. A lot of things would have to go our way to make it to NXN as a team, but the fact that it’s even a sliver of a chance is pretty cool, considering where the program was four years ago,” Boulet said. “Our focus with the kids is just for them to control what they can control, and the only thing they can really control is their effort. As long as they all give 100 percent while training and while racing, we can hang our heads up high no matter where we place.”