XCellence

Davis cross country aims high behind leader Fiona O’Keeffe, perhaps the state’s best runner

  By JIM McCUE | Senior Contributor

  Pace is vital for distance runners.

  One’s speed, strength and place are most important at the finish line rather than the start of the race. Davis High School cross country coach Bill Gregg has always been careful to monitor his runners’ and team’s pace throughout a season to ensure his Blue Devils are peaking when it matters most.

  “We will be looking at Stanford, Clovis, and Mt. SAC to see where we are at,” Gregg said of early season invitationals where the Davis girls team will be assessing themselves against some of the top competition in the state. “We are always trying to be mindful to not be too fast too early in the season because our mission every year is not to be fast, but to be running our best as a team.”

  The traditional powerhouse program is strong this year, and has aspirations to claim its 13th Sac-Joaquin Section title and second in three years. In 2013, the Blue Devils claimed the Division I section crown, finished second at the CIF State Cross Country Championships, and qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN). With a solid top four that includes juniors Sofia Castiglioni and Abbey Fisk and sophomore Olivia O’Keeffe, Gregg believes that a great finish to the season is within reach.

  “I am feeling pretty good with what we have seen early in the season, but we are still in the process of identifying our 5-7 runners and closing the gap between the times for our No. 4 and 5 through 7,” Gregg said. “We would like to try to get on the podium at State, and I don’t think that is out of the realm of possibility.”

  Not when the Blue Devils have Fiona O’Keeffe lining up alongside them.

  Fiona O’Keeffe entered 2015 as a three-time SJS champion and two-time CIF State Division I individual champion. She recently led Davis to a team title at the De La Salle Invitational in Concord while breaking a 19-year-old course record that was held by three-time state champion Julia Stamps from Santa Rosa.

  Her time of 16:41 was 24 seconds faster than her winning time on the course in 2014, and the defending state champion looks faster and better than ever. While the fast pace might be of some concern to Gregg, he sees his star making a natural progression from freshman upstart to a senior with unlimited potential.

  “She has continued to improve and her career arc from freshman to senior year goes hand in hand with some of the best distance runners I’ve seen,” the veteran coach said. “She has great potential to compete at a high level collegiately and also at the national and international level if that is what she wants to do.”

  The progression for O’Keeffe was a natural transition from constant running as a soccer midfielder to the more peaceful distance running on the track and trails. Fiona first focused on running in middle school and quickly learned to combine her natural gifts with the passion that she found for the sport.

  “I think part of it is genetic,” said O’Keeffe, whose parents, Malcolm and Liv, both ran competitively as student-athletes, “but probably what makes me good is how much I love it and the kind of coaching that I have gotten.”

  That gradual progress over the years has added up for O’Keeffe to the point that she is literally and figuratively lapping the field of competitors. As a junior, she distanced herself from the competition often, claiming the SJS Cross Country Division I individual championship by setting a course record and finishing nearly a minute and a half ahead of the next runner. In the spring, she sprinted past the field in the 3,200-meter run at the SJS Masters to set a meet record and finish nearly a full minute ahead of the rest of the section’s top distance runners.

  “I had an idea that she would be good based on some times she had in the 1500 in middle school, and I could see the potential,” Gregg said. “As her freshman year unfolded, I could see that the potential was real and that she could do some big things.”

  O’Keeffe would win the SJS Div. I individual title as a freshman and finish sixth in the Division I race at the state meet, but it was not until she won the Stanford Invitational as a sophomore that she realized just how good she might be. It was then that she believed she could continue the tradition and perhaps raise the profile of the Davis girls cross country program.

  With predecessors that include the program’s only other CIF State Cross Country champion and section 3,200-meter record holder Laurynne Chetelat, section track and field champions Sarah West and Sophie Meads, and high school and college stars Chelsea Reilly and Kaitlin Gregg. O’Keeffe had plenty of inspiration and motivation to rise to the top of her field.

  “I had always heard about these great runners that had gone through the (Davis) program, and the great coaching,” she said. “Then, when I came into the program as a freshman, I realized what a great, fun community it was.”

“I have met Kaitlin and Chelsea, and they are very inspirational because they have been very consistent over the years and worked steadily toward their goals.”

O’Keefe’s goals for her senior year put the team first, but the Blue Devils’ chances to win section or state team titles begin with her ability to lead the field to the finish line every time out.

“I think that it’s fair to say that a state championship for Fiona is the mission, but our focus is always on the team’s progression and success first,” Gregg said. “We don’t talk about (winning a third consecutive CIF State Division I individual title) or about breaking records because that’s not our focus during the season, but we are aware of those. There are some marks to shoot for, but we are not setting objectives based on history or records.”

A third Division I state title would put O’Keeffe in rare company if she reached the Woodward Park finish line first on November 28 in Fresno. While there have been three four-time state champions, O’Keefe could become just the third three-time Division I champion, potentially joining Stamps and Deena Drossin from Agoura.

There are still plenty of races to be run in the present and near future, but Gregg understands he is witnessing greatness and believes his star runner may just be getting started.

“I hope that I can help her get to the right college where she can continue to grow as a runner and where they can help her reach her goals,” he said.

“She could be one of the great young female American distance runners in the next 5-10 years.”