Catching up with former Oak Grove and current UC Berkeley runner Sebastian Sam...

Today we chat with former Oak Grove HS and current UC Berkeley runner Sebastian Sam. He finished in 7th place in the 800m. at the CCS finals as a sophomore and then went on to repeat as section champion his final two years (1:54.67 as a junior and 1:53.29 as a senior). He went on to record a 3rd place finish last year at the state meet with a fine 1:52.52. With a solid fall season, he will be looking to improve his time as he heads into his first collegiate track season.

1) Looking back at your high school career, what do you feel was your best race in Cross Country? Track and Field?
I never ran xc in high school, but my best race in track and field would have to be my 800m race at the 2008 CA state meet. Although I came in 3rd place I felt like I executed in my race as best as I could.

2) What do you think you did in high school that helped prepare you for college in terms of training?
One of the main things that prepared me for college was training 5 days out of the week and weight lifting. Every college stresses weight lifting as a big part of their program.

3) How did you end up choosing Cal Berkeley?
I chose CAL Berkeley because it proved to provide me with the best mixture of academics, sports and student life. The track team is also under new leadership with Head Coach, Tony Sandoval, and the recruiting for this year was great as well.

4) During your freshman season, what has been your toughest adjustment?
The toughest adjustment for my freshman season has been the longer distance training. I trained with the cross country team during the xc season which is something I have never done before, so it was hard running so many miles a week.

5) Besides the competition, what do you think will be the biggest differences between high school and college running?
The biggest difference between high school and college track will probably be the amount of time spent weekly. From practice, to weight lifting to study hall; my weeks remain busy.

6) What do you miss about high school running that is not present in college?
I do not miss anything from high school track and field except for my high school friends. I've used all of my past experiences and memories to build upon my confidence here at Berkeley.

7) Tell us a little about your high school coach and how he helped you during your high school years.
In high school I had a personal trainer, Chioke Robinson, whom I've known for 10 years and he trained me every year. My high school coach, Alan Wulczynski, worked with me on some days as well.

8) What distance will you be mainly focusing on in track?
I will be focusing primarily on the 800m.

9) What are your goals for this coming season?
I do not like to set a time goal for myself for the year because I found that if I do not hit the mark , then my confidence and ambition for the next season will lessen. I train my hardest with the mindset to win every race I enter, and hopefully that will be the case this year.

10) What did you do during the fall (cross country or fall conditioning)?
This past fall, I trained with the cross country runners but did not compete in any XC races. I feel that the base I built during the fall was the best I have ever had.

11) What would your advice be for prospective college runners?
The only advice I have for prospective college runners is to contact the college coaches. Many high school runners think that they just have to wait until the college coaches contact them, but that is not the case. The more you e-mail and call the coaches, the better chance you will have to be recruited.

12) Anything else you would like to add.
GO BEARS!

Thank you very much Sebastian! AJC