It is a statement that sounds inconceivable when made about a teenage girl.
But Schreiber girls track and field coach Jeremiah Pope said it matter of factly about his star sophomore runner Ashley Carillo, and when confronted with it in person, Carillo confirmed it with a sheepish smile.
“She doesn’t even bring her cell phone with her when she comes to practice,” Pope said.
What?? A teenage girl without a cell phone is like Garfield without lasagna. Like a toddler without a stuffed animal. Like LeBron James without a basketball in his hand.
But it’s absolutely true.
“When 3:17 (p.m.) hits, we bring our stuff out, and I leave my phone in the backpack,” Carillo said this week. “I bring my spikes, my water, go outside, and that’s it.
“It’s totally freeing,” Carillo said. “I get into the training mode, and try to run the splits I’m aiming for, and I shut out the world.”
When Carillo gets back to her phone, she said “sometimes I’ve missed a lot,” but Pope told the story to illustrate the newfound focus and dedication Carillo has exhibited this season.
And despite a fantastic freshman year, it’s true that Carillo has gotten even better in 2022-23. She began the three-part high school running season last fall in cross country, where she won the county title in 19:27.89, then qualified for states for the first time in that discipline, finishing 48th.
Now in the indoor winter season, Carillo is thriving in both the 1,000 and 1,500-meter runs. She’s ranked No.1 in Nassau County after putting up a personal-best 3:01.68 in the 1,000-meter run at the Molly Stanner Games in NYC on Jan. 15, and on Feb. 9 is favored to win counties yet again, with the state qualifier, and state championships, coming up later in February.
“I wish I had 20 more just like her,” Pope said with a laugh. “She works hard, listens to what the coaches say, and has gotten so much better than last year.
“You don’t ever, ever have to worry about her not doing what she’s supposed to be doing when no one’s looking.”
Carillo, who has knocked eight seconds off her 1,000 time from the end of her ninth-grade year, said she and Pope have most worked on her striding from last season.
A former soccer player, Carillo had the tendency to over-stride on races that required more speed, so she and Pope have worked on getting her feet down on the ground quicker, and not swinging her arms as much.
“It does waste energy when you overstride and have a big arm swing,” Carillo said. “I tend to do a heel strike sometimes when you really want to land more here,” she said, pointing toward the middle of her foot. It’s things like that that I’m really concentrating on now.”
In her freshman indoor track season, Carillo won the 1,000 meter Nassau state qualifier and made it to the state championships, where she finished 21st, in 3:09.50. She also won the county championships in the 3,000 meters in the spring outdoor season.
