Gabriella Cantrell had a choice: Focus more on sprinting or opera singing — she grabbed her cleats.
By ERIK STORDHAL | SportStars
Gabriella Cantrell knew she had the race in hand at the halfway point. That’s something to be expected of a long distance runner competing in the 1600 meter or the 3200. But she’s not a long distance runner – she’s a sprinter, and this was the 100 meter dash.
And when she crossed the finish line “coasting”, as she put it, there was about a 30-foot gap between her and second place.
The San Leandro High junior posed for the camera, smiling and holding up her index finger, and received congratulations from her fellow competitors. In total, she tallied four first place finishes on the day at the West Alameda County Conference finals on May 11, further cementing her status as a track tour de force for 2013.
Like most prodigies, Cantrell started her track career at an early age — when her friends were still learning how to tie their shoes.
“I’ve been doing track since I was about 6-years old,” Cantrell said. “(My dad) just saw a talent in me ever since I was little. I used to take off running all the time and they couldn’t catch me.”
But track was far from the only extracurricular activity that occupied her free time. Cantrell listed basketball, tennis, swimming as other sports she played as a kid and added on dancing and opera singing for good measure. The activity she valued the highest after track?
“I was singing in the San Francisco Opera. … Track was like the same as singing so I kinda, like, tossed those in between, basically.”
When Cantrell got older she graduated from the chorus school and decided to take track a little more seriously.
“I went to Athens, Greece, to run for International Children’s Games with Tommie Smith,” said Cantrell who was in eighth grade for the event. “I did really, really well there. So I decided that track was the right way to go.”
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Cantrell began her high school career at Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland where she competed on the track and field team. She showed promise her freshman year placing fifth in the 100 at the North Coast Section Meet of Champions, narrowly missing out on a bid for state (only the top four qualify).
An ankle injury bothered her during her sophomore year and she was forced to have surgery early in the season. But she still finished fourth in the 100, third in the 200 and first in the 4×100 relay, helping O’Dowd take home first place overall at the NCS Meet of Champions.
State was an altogether different story.
Cantrell competed in the 100, 200 and 4×100 but failed to qualify in all three. The disappointment stung but it was still a learning experience.
“Just stay healthy and trust my training and my body,” Cantrell said on what it would take to succeed at state. “Just the peaks and the valleys, the bad times you learn from ‘em, the good times – you wanna keep having the good times.”
To allow her body to get back to top form, she took a break from track last summer.
“I had some scar tissue in (my ankle) from (competing) and that was kinda affecting my hamstrings and the backs of my knees. Everything was just swelling up so it was just like, ‘Let me just take a break.’ You know, first year ever that I didn’t run during the summer. But I just started back at it in September.”
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Cantrell is trained by track guru Curtis Taylor of the East Oakland Youth Development Center. He’s trained track and field stars such as triple jump extraordinaire Sasha Wallace (Castro Valley) and top sprinter Trinity Wilson, now at USC. He’s trained Cantrell on and off for three years, but this season he has a close eye on her.
“She’s gotten a lot stronger and spends quality time in the weight room,” Taylor said. “She’s also been able to get her confidence level up. A lot of success in track is in your confidence level, feeling comfortable competing at the level you’re at. She’s gotten in more high level races this year and now what’s happening is she believes she can do well.”
Taylor explained the two things all track athletes need for continued success.
“One, you’ve got to get stronger. Second, you’ve got to have a lot of confidence. She’s been able to achieve both this year.”
With her ankle healed and her body at 100 percent, Cantrell has been on fire this season. The rest of the state took notice earlier this year at two meets. She posted a time of 11.76 seconds in the 100 at the Sacramento Meet of Champions on April 27. At the time, that was the third fastest in the state. She then posted a 23.97 in the 200 at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 20, which was second best in California through May 11. And with her showing at the WACC finals, victories at NCS are expected to follow on May 25.
“Just trying to pace myself,” Cantrell said after she ran the 200 on May 11. “Just get through the rounds healthy. That’s basically it. Not try to force myself and go for time.”
She’s saving all her energy for NCS where she’ll be a heavy favorite to win multiple events. Last year’s top finishers in the 100 and 200 have all graduated, leaving the door wide open for Cantrell to be the big winner.
But that’s not her end goal for the season.
“My goal for this year: ultimately to win state, hopefully,” Cantrell said, “well at least place.”
To win state, Cantrell will have to do the improbable: beat Long Beach Poly’s Ariana Washington. Also a junior, Washington is a stranger to losing. Last year, she won the 100 and 200 at state. This year, she holds the state’s fastest times in the 100 (11.51) and 200 (23.34), both third fastest in the country.
For reference, Cantrell faced off against Washington in the 100 prelims last year — losing by nearly a second and a half.
Still, with a healthy ankle this go ‘round, Cantrell should give Washington a run for her money.
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Neither her goals, nor her season, stops at state. Cantrell will continue to be found in track stadiums worldwide this summer.
“I’m trying to do Pan-Am (in Colombia) this year,” Cantrell said. “That’s August 23, I believe. And the trials are … after the school year in Des Moines, Iowa.”
After the summer, she’ll get things going for her senior year and then beyond. Some colleges have already taken notice.
“I got a couple (colleges looking at me),” Cantrell said. “Tennessee called my school. UCLA I believe is looking at me. That’s where I wanna go. Notre Dame and ASU (Arizona State University) looked at me last year.”
Taylor’s confident great things will happen for her.
“If she stays focused and serious … it’ll be interesting,” Taylor said. “She could definitely be one of the top sprinters in the country.”