Photo by Kathy Tran.
“With her being as phenomenal as she was, as talented as she was, it was easy to build a program,” says Coach Lauren Cross about Sha’Carri Richardson.
The two entered David W. Carter High School at the same time, Cross in her second position as girls track and field head coach and Richardson as an incoming freshman set to dominate. Cross coached Richardson all four years at Carter, where they made it to the state championships during her last three years.
Cross grew up in Houston, running in the high school girls circuit. She continued her athletic career at Grambling State University where she ran the 400m. Shortly after graduation, she had a short stint as the head track coach at Kingston High School in Oklahoma, before moving to Dallas to be with her husband.
In Cross’ first year, Richardson sustained an injury that would sideline her for her freshman season, but led the team to a state championship appearance as a sophomore.
“Her sophomore year, we made it to the state title and we got runner up,” Cross says. “We lost the whole state title by about six points. We were just happy to be there, let alone win it all. We weren’t even thinking about that. So once we ended the season, I told the girls, we didn’t think about winning. We were just thinking about getting to the state week to compete.”
The Carter girls would go on to win the next two state titles, with Richardson setting standing records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m races in 2018.
After a short stint at Louisiana State University, the “fastest woman alive” went professional and was primed to headline Team USA’s Olympic roster for the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics. She was appearing in commercials and TV interviews all while giving fans around the world a show as she won her final qualifying 100m by a significant amount. Just weeks before the Olympics would start, Richardson tested positive for marijuana, failing a mandatory USADA drug test that would disqualify her from competing in the games.
Cross and Richardson have remained close since her graduation, recently reuniting at the annual Nike track and field trials in the ramp-up for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Watching her and remembering her as a 14-year-old girl I met to the professional athlete that everybody wants to be around,” Cross says. “She’s so humbled.”
Seeing the success and attention brought to Carter by Richardson, some athletes even switched schools specifically to join Cross’ team.
“I explained to some of them that everybody’s not going to be Sha’Carri,” Cross says. “It’s such a small percentage of kids that do it professionally. The high school experience is the most important experience. For most kids, that’s as far as they’re going to go and you just want to make sure that it’s memorable for them.”
Runners under Cross have garnered far more than a fun high school sports experience. The team has made it to state championships every year since her hiring.
”Once you win, it’s easy for kids to buy into the program,” Cross says. “I was still learning a lot at that time. With her being as phenomenal as she was, it was easy to build a program out there.”
Carter’s girls track and field team has been successful, but consistent winning is far more difficult than it seemed at one point.
“Over the past couple years, we’ve gotten to state but haven’t won a state title,” Cross says. “I didn’t realize how great that ride was. It helped put the foundation of my program. That’s just our minimum expectations to get to state.”
Given the self-imposed standard of excellence, Cross is methodical in how she arranges practices and workouts with her students.
“Being an athlete, you have your routine,” she says. “You don’t look at it from the administrative side. Coaches basically gave us workouts in high school and college. But once I put on the coaching hat, I had to analyze; how does this workout really help the girls?”
Going on her 11th year at Carter, Cross is still learning the subtleties of coaching. But once her team is out on the track, there’s only one thing that matters.
“When you understand how winning feels,” Cross says. “All of the other nonsense goes out the window.”
