Is it possible to get recruited for c.c. if times are excellent but the athlete does not do track?
It’s difficult to compare XC times because of the variation in courses. But if you have done well in your State championship meet or Foot Locker / Nike regional/national meets, you could be recruited based on that. If you’re asking if you can be recruited to only run XC in college and not participate in track, I think that’s a longshot at a D1 school.
More along the lines of what advice should a parent give a promising cross country freshman who hates track workouts with a passion and has no interest in doing track in the spring. Long term I see her at a academic d3 or d2 powerhouse using sports as a bonus.
As varska said I think a large percentage of college XC recruits also run track in high school, at least the 3200m.
One thing to note is that there are also longer distance races in college track, 5k and 10k, so the fit between XC and track is more natural in college than high school.
There are some college track teams, in fact, that only have distance runners that are also on the XC team - IIRC there is some financial incentive from the NCAA for schools to have track teams and this is a cheap way to do it.
Of course you aren’t going to force her to do track if she hates it. Stating the obvious here, but encourage her in XC. Classwork and grades are top priority if a strong academic D3 is the goal and see how things shape up after Junior year. (Fortunately, track and XC are not sports in which recruits are pressed for commitments very early)
Sounds good. Currently she plans to swim in the spring and continue to do some trail running on the side. She adores trail running.
- The vast majority of college XC runners also run track, especially D3.
- high school XC will get treated as an extra-curricular activity if not recruited. Good luck
Is she swimming on the school team or her on her own? Most kids that run XC train together year-round. The XC team and distance track team are often coordinated or have the same coach. It’s probably possible to be recruited, but I’m not aware of any kids at that level who didn’t do the speed work that happens during track to get that good.
Has she done any triathlons? Picking up the biking should be easy with her swimming and running background.
Track workouts will be a part of any cc program. Speed work or intervals are esential. Things change a lot for freshman girl runners by the time they graduate. Oftentimes girls get slower, interests change, etc.
She’s been a club swimmer since age 4. Always assumed that would be her thing in hs. She’said been running regularly for only 2 months and made varsity on a good hs c.c. team. All new territory for this swim mom. We will see how this year goes doing both. Time enough to think more about specialization next year, maybe.
Her dream school is Cal Tech. Laughingly she’d be both theirene fastest runner and swimmer if she got in today. 
Obviously not expecting athletics to help there.
As ohiopublic said,girls sometimes get slower which is very different than the boys. The boys basically all get faster by senior year; depending on how the girls bodies develop, freshman year is sometimes their fastest. Staying consistently injury-free (or at least minimizing injuries) is also part of the equation. The swimming may help with that, but some runners are just more prone to injury than others as workload increases. You’ll find out one way or the other.
I echo what the posters above have said. My daughter, also a competitive swimmer from age five forward, picked up XC running in high school. She was one of the fastest runners on a good team her freshman year. As her body changed however, her times later in high school actually slowed. She also always ran track, though like your daughter she didn’t like it nearly as well as cross country. Still, XC coaches like to see track times to be able to compare apples to apples. XC all have such vast variation in terrain – hills, grass, paved road, trails, woods – no two are the same. Participating in big meets such as Foot Locker or their regional qualifiers (and doing well) will help if she refuses to do track.
All that said, if Cal Tech is her dream school, sounds like she’ll have a great shot even if she gets a bit slower! (And of course she may get much faster as it sounds like the potential is there. I would avoid having her specialize though! Swimming pairs perfectly with distance running and the break can help stave off injury. My daughter swam and ran throughout high school.) While they might not have the pull to get their recruits like other scholarship schools, with the right balance of great grades and athletics, she should land on the top of the heap at Cal Tech and many other fine schools. Time will tell as to whether her interests – including choice of schools – will change, as it most often does, at least to a degree, between freshman and junior/senior year.
It won’t help at all CalTech as doesn’t recruit.
We know that. Just had a laugh looking at times.
Whether she’s recruited or not, or does club or varsity, I don’t see a time coming soon that she’s not competing in some sort of sport. She’s naturally athletic and would spend all her time outdoors, running, hiking, swimming, etc. if she could. Don’t know where it comes form, the rest of us are so not good at anything athletic.