37 years ago Randall High School first opened.
37 years ago, Coach Rebekah James was hired as the Lady Raiders basketball coach.
22 years ago, Coach James became the Lady Raiders head cross country coach.
“I had a lot of success with the distance girls, and I enjoyed cross country and being outside,” James said.
Coach James pushes her athletes to compete their hardest and to win every race they can.
“I love competition,” James said, “I grew up with three older brothers, and everything was like a competition.”
Coach James has gone to state sixteen times in a row with cross country. Out of those sixteen she’s had eight podium finishers. Out of those eight, she’s had three second places, one third place, and four state championships. Coach James has also had two individual state champions and ten individual podium finishers.
“The first time we won state with cross country was probably really special cause we were not picked to win,” James said. “I think we were ranked eight or ninth in the state and then we ended up winning, so that was pretty special.”
The history of the program motivates the athletes to be competitive and to be just as good as the last group of athletes.
“People come into this program, and they don’t wanna be the ones who don’t go to state,” James said. “So it’s almost like self motivation, just from success.”
Over the years, Coach James learned what works and what doesn’t work to get the girls to push their hardest during any race, practice, workout, or timed run.
“Everybody’s going for the same goal and if you’re stopping that from happening you’re probably not going to be a part of cross country, so they get along pretty good,” James said. “They have little spats every once and a while but they still love each other.”
It’s almost like a family on the team. They have a sisterhood and they love and care for each other.
“Me and my teammates are super close, it’s like we’re sisters,” cross country athlete Brooke French said. “We’re always there for each other, and even though we fight sometimes, it just shows how close we are.”
The athletes respect Coach James for her genuine love for the sport and her athletes. It shows how much she cares for her team, she will always be a leader for her girls to look up to.
“I appreciate Coach James so much because she cares for us as more than just her runners,” cross country athlete Rebel Rea said, “Coach James has made long lasting connections with everyone she has coached, and she is genuinely such a caring and thoughtful woman.”
Coach James plans to retire at the end of this school year. Coach James has been at Randall since it first opened. She coached three different sports, girls basketball, girls track, and girls cross country.
“This is my forty-fourth year teaching, and I could’ve retired a long time ago, but now I get full retirement,” James said. “Plus I have a two year old grandson who lives in Tulsa, so I’d like to see him more.”
