Coach Comment (Chuck Rose): How is your athlete as a person and a competitor? Caroline is one of the nicest, most humble and hardworking people you will ever meet! She is a Christian, and she carries that with her in her daily life.
What is his/her best attributes? It takes more than just God given ability to be a distance runner, and sure He has to give you that, but it's what the person does with it that is the difference in becoming a great runner. Caroline has the drive, discipline, determination, and dedication to become the best that she can be. These attributes are why she is running in college and also why she will succeed in anything in life she puts her mind towards doing.
Athlete
What is your GPA and ACT score? 4.0 GPA and a 29 ACT score
Describe why you choose College and what you liked on your visit to the college. I chose Mississippi College because I felt in my heart that it was the right place for me to grow not only as a runner, but also in my faith walk. I loved how welcoming the team was to me and how encouraging they were to each other, and I knew that I wanted to be a part of it!
Is there any other athlete that might have helped influence your signing. I would have to say three girls-Carley Hudspeth, Morgan Claire Rose, and Elizabeth Taylor-all influenced me to sign. I was able to run with them all throughout junior high and high school; and since they were two years older than me, I looked up to them a lot. They always encouraged me to grow as a runner and pushed me to be my best! As well, my best friend, Sara Brooke Branscome encouraged me and was there for me throughout my whole decision-making process.
What are you most looking forward to about your future career as an athlete at College? As a college athlete, I am excited to train with a large team almost year-round and work really hard to become a better runner and lower my times.
What is your favorite workout your Coach has you do? I love my early Sunday morning long runs because they are such a great, peaceful start to my day!
What is your least favorite workout? Repeat 1000s, but they help to grow me as a runner.
What events do you think they'll have you run in track as a freshman? I am not quite sure, but I am open to trying whatever event my coach thinks will be the best for me!
What motivates you to run? I love to run, and my desire to get better and love for the sport motivates me a lot. After sitting out this past fall with an injury, I remember how hard it was to not be able to run and use that as fuel for all my runs now.
What do you think about when you're running? Honestly, I think about everything or sometimes nothing because running helps me to sort out decisions or to just clear my head and de-stress myself. I also pray a lot while I am running because I have found it is a great way for me to talk to God without distractions.
Do you have any superstitions on race day or perhaps an odd pre-race routine? I never change anything up on race day: it consists of the same food, music, stretches, outfit, and lots of praying!
Gatorade or Powerade? Powerade Zero is my go-to for sure!
Jersey, aka Singlet, tucked or untucked? untucked
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Do you have a favorite meal for the night before a race? Yes! My dinner the night before a race always consist of-baked chicken, baked sweet potatoes, squash, and brown rice with quinoa.
Do you take ice baths? If yes, what do you think about during an ice bath? I don't currently, but I know there will be many in my future ahead!
Name a lesson that running and training as a runner has taught you. Running and training have helped me to realize that I am a lot stronger than I realized and that hard work really does pay off!
Do you have a rival runner? No matter the race, I am always competing with myself.
What do you do to recover after a race? I always re-hydrate with water. If I have a while between races, I jog some and stretch to keep my legs from getting tight before I go sit down and rest.
How do you intend to balance academics and athletics in college? In college, our runs will be in the mornings, which I love because I will have the rest of the day to focus on my academics. So, I think this will be a great help to balancing both!
What is the strangest thing you've seen during a race? I would have to say it would be a fake deer during a cross-country race because I initially thought it was real ha-ha!
Who is your biggest fan? My mom is most definitely my biggest fan. She is always at every one of my races to cheer me on, and she always helps to calm my pre-race nerves. Her support means the world to me, and hearing her yell, "Go, Caroline!" always motivates me to keep pushing during my races!
What advice would you like to share with younger runners just starting out their high school careers? It may sound cliché, but never give up! Running is a tough sport that takes hard work, but your hard work will pay off! Most importantly, do not dwell on a bad race or run or even season because it happens to everyone; keep moving forward and focus on what is ahead.
Is there anything else you want to share with the MileSplit Community? Thank you all for your support during this exciting new step in my future as a college athlete!
