The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
Courtesy the Roake Family - Caitlin Roake, a 2007 Carlmont Graduate, captured Northern California community college cross country title for CSM
As a full-time student at Stanford University and the College of San Mateo, Caitlin Roake is truly a one-of-a-kind scholar.
She’s a pretty special athlete, too. The 2006 Carlmont High graduate became CSM’s first-ever Coast Conference champion last week, then continued her unprecedented run with an individual championship in the Northern California Community College Championships Saturday at Beals Point at Lake Folsom.
Her time of 18 minutes, 22 seconds was nearly two minutes faster than the second-place finisher. Roake’s dominating run helped lead the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish, their highest place in school history. Roake and CSM advanced to run for the state championships Nov. 17 at Fresno’s Woodward Park. CSM also had success on the men’s side, as freshmen Jose Montoya and Brandon Becerra qualified for the state meet.
On the women’s side, Kim Moyer (ninth overall), Stephanie Maher (16th), Laura Woodall, Ashley Crittendon and Vanessa Louie will be joining Roake in Fresno. After winning championships in consecutive weeks, can Roake do the unthinkable and win the state meet, achieving cross-country’s version of a triple crown?
“That will be tough,” Bulldogs coach Joe Mangan said. “I think the 10 to 15 range probably (is more realistic). There are some great runners down south. The top runner is out of Orange Coast College in Huntington Beach and she had a scholarship to Arizona and was a Foot Locker national finalist in high school.”
Roake is in a unique situation because she’s extremely intelligent and a strong runner, but not an elite one. There are only a dozen or so runners in the country that can make Stanford’s team. The Cardinal is the defending national champion, and Roake tried to walk on for the national powerhouse but didn’t make it. She wanted to continue her running career, and found a perfect way to do just that, attending classes at CSM and running for the Bulldogs.
It’s remarkable how far Roake has come. She didn’t even start running competitively until her senior year at Carlmont. Two years ago, she finished third in the Central Coast Section Cross Country Meet and in the 3,200-meter run. Before getting into competitive running, Roake was a lifelong soccer player. Roake’s ultimate goal is to make the Stanford squad. Even if that never happens, Roake has already accomplished things no one thought she could ever do.
“She’s one of those special talents that as a coach you hope to come across,” Mangan said. “Right now she’s a couple of levels below the top Stanford runners. What she wants is to use CSM as a springboard to get on to Stanford’s team. It will be tough, but I’ll never doubt her.”
Water polo
CSM’s women’s water polo team wrapped up its fourth season of play with a solid showing at the Coast Conference Championships.
The Bulldogs defeated Cabrillo for the first time in program history before finishing up with losses to Foothill and Ohlone. Tiffany Chan earned Coast Conference first-team honors, while Alli Craviotto (second team) and Alex Cortes and Meagan Shields were honorable mention.
Chan had a team-high 53 goals, Craviotto finished with 27 and Cortes had 32 assists. Shields committed the fewest turnovers, with 16. Bulldogs coach Randy Wright said the latter is one of his most important statistics, and rightly so. When CSM lost, it often was a case of careless turnovers. Wright was most proud of the fact that his team improved at the very end — although he wished the players would’ve done it sooner.
“The girls didn’t realize how good they could be until the very end,” he said. “It took them all season, but they finally got it. We did turn it on at the end, so we have to be happy about that.”
Wright, who is also one of the top water polo officials on the Peninsula, knows he needs to upgrade the talent on his roster to win a conference championship. The Bulldogs have been taking baby steps each year, but Wright wouldn’t mind if they took a huge leap next season. While this year’s team had plenty of strength and toughness, it lacked the skill and swimming ability compared to the top-tier squads.
“We definitely need more weapons for next year,” Wright said. “We’re definitely moving in the right direction, which is a positive. I see 90 to 95 percent of the high school games and have a good rapport with the coaches on the Peninsula, so if there’s talent, I’ll know about it. When it comes to recruiting you have to seek and destroy to reach your goals. More talent equals a better team, and if you can’t get the best talent, you better develop the players you have. And the players we have are pretty good.”
