Cross Country: 'Her mindset is just really different:' Freshman Caroline Barrow is a fast-rising phenom for Taylor
The Region III-6A cross country champion is already shattering records at Taylor High as she readies for the state meet later this week
As a child, Caroline Barrow showed the same moxie and ambition that she does today as a freshman at Taylor High School.
During the summers, when she and her siblings would tag along with their mom Sara to help set up her classroom at Memorial Parkway Junior High, Barrow, then in elementary school, would race Tonya McKelvey-White, then Sara’s teaching partner.
“It was the funniest, cutest thing, because she really believed she could beat me,” McKelvey-White recalled, laughing, before quickly adding: “I won’t race her anymore.”
Fast track nine years, and McKelvey-White is now Barrow’s high school cross country and track and field coach. And Barrow is now a precocious athletic talent, the Region III-6A cross country champion after breaking the school record in the 5K with a time of 17-minutes, 35.21-seconds in Huntsville last week.
It had been 15 years since Taylor sent a girl to the state cross country meet. This year, the Mustangs are sending two in junior Casey Scherpereel and Barrow.
“I did know of her drive, her determination. Her dedication,” McKelvey-White said of Barrow. “It’s a step above of, probably, every other athlete I’ve coached, ever. And I’ve coached collegiately, high school, youth. Her mindset is just really different.”
McKelvey-White said Barrow’s drive comes from a close-knit family of athletes. Her brother, Corbin, played basketball at Taylor. Her sister, Claire, will be a junior on the soccer team this season.
There is an inherited innate desire to win.
“I think it just comes from my heart,” Barrow said. “I always want to work hard at everything I do. I don’t want to waste my time, or anyone else’s time. I want to make people proud. I want everyone to see what I’ve worked for, and I want it to pay off.”
Barrow is a high-level soccer player. She plays forward for Albion Hurricanes FC, one of the elite club programs in the state. Barrow did not start the season on the cross country team because of demanding soccer obligations.
But when McKelvey-White realized her girls team could place third at the district meet, and earn a bid to the regional meet, she knew she’d need an extra person.
Already, her girls were aware of Barrow. They saw the intensity Barrow played with on the soccer field. How she pursued every ball, always moving, always cutting. Non-stop. Never a lull.
“They watch her every day in soccer, and they always say, ‘When is she coming over here?’” McKelvey-White said.
As the postseason loomed, McKelvey-White initiated her recruitment.
She first texted Sara, who encouraged her to ask Barrow. Then she consulted Scherpereel, the team captain, because Barrow’s addition would mean dropping somebody down.
They were all for it.
So was Barrow.
“Her eyes got big, and she was like, ‘Yeah. I got it,’” McKelvey-White said.
Barrow immediately found a kindred spirit in Scherpereel, who finished 12th overall at the regional meet with a time of 18:57.10.
Not only are both gifted runners, they are three-sport athletes. Both run cross country and track and field. Barrow plays soccer. Scherpereel plays basketball.
“Obviously, it’s a new environment for her. I just wanted to be as welcoming as possible,” said Scherpereel, who has a PR of 18:20.80. “We ran together for everything. Her coming in as a freshman is crazy to think about because she’s done great things and she has a great future. It’s fun to witness that and be a part of it.”
Despite meeting Scherpereel only three weeks ago, Barrow said they are “best buds.” She has leaned on the three-year letterman’s guidance.
“She’s so easy to talk to,” Barrow said. “The biggest thing I’ve learned from her is just to have fun with it. At the end of the day, it’s a race. At the end, we’re all going to be friends, no matter who wins or if someone else beats us.”
Scherpereel said Barrow motivates her and pushes her. In her first ever 5K, at the district meet two weeks ago, Barrow ran a 17:54.51.
“She is phenomenal,” McKelvey-White said. “She is a beast, she is good. But for a 5K, first time? That girl has something that’s not natural.”
The following weekend, Barrow played a club soccer game on Saturday and another one Sunday before running the regional meet Monday morning.
“Lots of ice baths,” Barrow said of how she dealt with the intense schedule. “Lots of relaxing and recovery. I’m used to it. I train so much during the week that I’m used to that pressure on my body.”
Barrow trains with her club soccer team Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for 90 minutes each session. There is also indoor training most Fridays and some Mondays.
For cross country, she does speed workouts on Mondays and mileage runs with Scherpereel during the middle of the week at 6 a.m.
Because of her soccer skills, Barrow is adept at leveraging quick bursts to navigate tight spaces. Congested turns on a cross country course are her best friend.
“In soccer, if the ball’s in front of me, I’m running as fast as I can to get there,” she said. “So in cross country, if someone’s in front of me, I’m going to work as hard as I can to get in front of them.”
Her club soccer background keeps her calm in the face of pressure.
“Going into soccer games, you can’t let all the pressure get to your head,” Barrow said. “You just have to settle in. Whoever settles in fastest, that’s who’s going to do the best. So that’s how I am with the cross country meets.”
Barrow will play in a showcase for the U.S. Youth National Team on Wednesday at an I.D. camp at SMU. She is one of 30 girls participating.
Not even 48 hours later, she will run at the state meet in Round Rock.
“I’m not nervous,” Barrow said. “I’m just really looking forward to show what I can do. I’ve done these camps before, and I’ve done a cross country race before.”
Barrow remembers the school hallway races with McKelvey-White almost 10 years ago. The good ol’ days. When she was racing for fun.
Now she’s doing it competitively. There is more at stake.
“It’s fun how I’ve evolved from that to this, and now she’s coaching me,” Barrow said.
Barrow has always had the speed and endurance. McKelvey-White introduced the technical aspects, like the way Barrow should form her arms, when to use her speed and when to settle in, and when and where in a race to drop her shoulders and hips.
Heading to state, McKelvey-White said she sees no nervousness or anxiety in Barrow.
“I’m going to start pretty fast and stay in that front pack of girls,” Barrow said. “We’ll see how it goes. I’m excited for the experience. It’s my first one and it’s going to be super fun.”