SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Track & Field

Metro Conference report

Another coaching legend joins Mustangs' ranch

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, May 1, 2003 -- The list of legends keeps growing at Otay Ranch High School.

The Sweetwater Union High School District’s newest school is slated to open its doors on July 21. Ian Cumming will be on staff when it does.

One of the most respected cross country and track and field coaches during nearly three decades of service in the Metro Conference, Cumming chose to make the move to the Mustangs’ new ranch, joining fellow coaching legend in the ranks, Gene Alim, who was previously named the school’s first football coach and athletic director.

Cumming will leave Bonita Vista High School, where he currently teaches and coaches, at the end of the spring semester.

He will be a multi-subject teacher on staff at Otay Ranch High.

The teaching position was posted throughout the entire district and all those interviewed were given the opportunity to apply for coaching positions, making Cumming’s selection more personally noteworthy given the tremendous caliber of coaching ability that permeates the district’s 11 existing high schools.

“First of all, I am very honored and happy to have been chosen both for the teaching and coaching positions over the many quality applicants who were all given the opportunity to apply for the coaching jobs during their interviews,” he said.

Cumming previously coached 18 years at Hilltop High School before making the move to Bonita Vista, where he helped re-energize that school’s cross country and track and field program to make it one of the South County’s premier programs and a powerhouse at the county level.

“It was a very hard decision. Bonita has been a very good position — great parents, a great group of teachers and a great group of cross country runners coming back. The guys team should be one of the top teams next year,” Cumming said.

During his decade of rule at Bonita Vista, Barons girls teams won eight of 10 league titles, finishing as high as third in the section championship meet, while boys teams either won or shared four league titles. In dual meets, Bonita Vista’s girls teams set the standard for excellence with a 78-2 record; boys teams were not far behind at 70-10. Bonita Vista’s highest place-finish in the section boys championships was fifth.

“This is a school with a lot of talent and a lot of neat kids. It’s been fun teaching and coaching here,” Cumming said.

Cumming will next face building a program from the ground up — something he is not unaccustomed to doing. But at his disposal at the new school will be state of the art training facilities that should serve as beacons in terms of recruiting potential athletes from the student body. At the centerpiece of the Mustangs’ track and field program will be an all-weather track — instantly the Metro Conference’s newest jewel.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to have an all-weather track at your disposal. It’s a neat opportunity to start a program for the school,” Cumming said. “It will be a great experience. I don’t think there’s a coach alive who wouldn’t like to come here.”

Cumming said the presence of the all-weather track allows the opportunity for the conference to hold its championship meets there as well as the potential for section championships to be held in the South County. Presently, Poway High’s all-weather track has been the site for county-wide championships after years of use of Balboa Stadium’s all-weather surface. At the least, Cumming said the facility — regardless of whether it met CIF meet standards — would be the perfect site to host an invitational meet.

Cumming said he is also looking forward to working with the school’s new staff. He had previously worked one summer for Otay Ranch principal Jose Brosz while Brosz was at National City Middle School.

“I’m excited about the opportunity. It’s tough to leave the kids at Bonita but it’s exciting to be doing what I’ll be doing,” Cumming said.

In 18 years at Hilltop, Cumming coached 17 years while winning eight boys league championships and three girls in cross country. The Lancers won boys section cross country titles in 1981 and 1984. The Hilltop girls cross country team finished second in the 1984 section meet. The Lancers were also highly successful in track and field competition, winning more than half a dozen league championships.

When the coaching opportunity opened up at Bonita Vista High, Cumming faced a similar decision in leaving a program at the top at Hilltop. “I was fortunate to land that position. It was a very good move. I was not unhappy at Hilltop. But it was a chance to rekindle a program that had been successful in the past.”

A graduate of Orange Glen High School, Cumming attended Palomar Community College before receiving a scholarship at Cal Lutheran, where he participated as an athlete and later coached before embarking on his high school teaching career.
At Cal Lutheran, Cumming’s team put together two undefeated seasons. “I had a lot of talent to deal with,” he said.

Cumming continues to compete as an athlete in the masters division. He holds four national age group titles in the 3,000-meter steeplechase event and has coached five national champions in sub-masters (over 30) and masters (over 40) and advised one other. He also won a national masters cross country championship in 1994 with the Jamul Toads. He plans on resuming his own activities this summer.

With three years at the collegiate level and 28 years at the high school level, Cumming has coached for 31 seasons. It is a love he acquired early on. “Teaching is very positive. It helps provide a role model,” he said.

Cumming said he was very impressed by one of his former coaches, Mike Curran, while at Palomar Community College. “He had a very big affect on me, as did Don Green at Cal Lutheran and my high school coaches at Orange Glen,” Cumming said. “The championships are fun but really what’s neat is watching how the kids mature. You watch them for four years — you see their decision making process mature from their freshman year to their senior year. It makes you feel good that you have had a part in that maturing process.”

Obviously with a first-year program at a school that will be opening its doors for the first time, there will be challenges. However, Cumming said he is preparing himself for them.
“Anytime you start from scratch, there’s a lot of work to be done. But it’s one of many attributes of being a head coach,” he said.

But ordering equipment and scheduling meets is only the administrative part of the job. Earning respect of the students, parents and one’s teaching peers is perhaps the most important aspect, he said.

“You have to give faith to the team both as a coach and teacher. You have to build that faith and trust. You’re starting with new teachers at school and it jolts you out of that comfort zone. Presently I get to work with a lot of good people but it still will be interesting working with other people who you have yet to develop that comfort level. It will also be a new situation working in a year-round school,” he said.

There will also be other challenges that will be unique to Otay Ranch’s student-athletes. The school will open only with freshman and sophomore classes.

“It will be interesting working with freshmen and sophomores. In the past, you had junior and senior leaders on a team. These freshmen and sophomores will be in a unique position of not only learning a sport but also learning to be leaders. That will be an interesting challenge. But I know the kids will rise to the occasion,” Cumming said.
Cumming said he had an emotional week in making his decision to make the move to Otay Ranch and then announcing it to his Bonita Vista team.

“I was offered the position on a Monday. It was a hard decision. Tuesday I accepted that position. I try to be close with my athletes. As I care for my athletes, they care for me. It’s an unsettling time but we’re making the best of it,” said Cumming, whose track and field team faces a May 8 showdown at Eastlake High for this year’s Mesa League championship title.

Cumming also said he believes his Barons teams will be left in good hands after he leaves the school.

“My teams understand. There are some people out there who can take over cross country and Melanie Holmes is already doing a great job as the boys head track and field coach. I know they’ll do a good job,” he said. “In leaving, I’d like to tell my athletes and my students they’ve made it a great experience at Bonita. Also to the staff, Mr. Leyba, the present principal, Dr. Schaeffer who hired me and (football coach) Carl Parrick, in particular, it was a great honor to work with them all . The parents have been awesome — all of them — but in particular the support from Jeff and Julie Phair, who have given an incredible amount of time and effort. It’s been a great experience doing this and I have to thank my wife and daughters for allowing me to do all this.”

Metro Conference Boys Top Marks
(Through April 26)
Running Events/(electronic times)
100: Craig Jackson (Eastlake) 10.9; D’Undre Byrd (Eastlake) 10.9. Note: Byrd 23.27 in 200.
400: Joe Gaines (Bonita Vista) 50.92; Joe Wynn (Sweetwater) 51.40. Section lead: 47.58 (state lead)
800: Javier Diaz (Sweetwater) 1:59.47; Robert Isais (Sweetwater) 2:02.54; Troy Swier (Mar Vista) 2:03.0. Section lead: 1:56.73
1600: Troy Swier (Mar Vista) 4:17.92 (first section); Ryan Becijos (Bonita Vista) 4:19.05 (second section)
3200: Troy Swier (Mar Vista) 9:15.69 (first section); Ryan Becijos (Bonita Vista) 9:40.64; Hector Arreola (Sweetwater) 10:02.34; Ivan Villareal (Chula Vista) 10:05.51.
110HH: Daniel Chang (Bonita Vista) 15.17. Justin Hillery (Bonita Vista) 15.39; Derek Gunter (Chula Vista) 15.66; Section lead: 14.39
300IH: Justin Hillery (Bonita Vista) 39.5 (third section); Alfonso Hernandez (Sweetwater) 41.45; Daniel Chang (Bonita Vista) 41.67. Section lead: 38.36
4x100 relay: Bonita Vista 43.96; Marian Catholic 44.14. Section lead: 41.81
4x400 relay: Bonita Vista 3:28.38 (fourth in section); Sweetwater 3:35.73. Section lead: 3:19.12
Field Events
High jump: Keith Spencer (Eastlake) 6-2; Julian Smith (Chula Vista) 6-0. Section lead: 6-6.
Pole vault: Steve Nemecek (Chula Vista) 13-6; Joe Ziomek (Eastlake) 13-6; Fernando Romero (SuHi) 13-6; Shawn West (Eastlake) 13-0. Section lead: 15-8
Long jump: Jordan Rosure (Sweetwater) 21-2.25; Gene Smith (Castle Park) 21-6; Stefan Foster (Montgomery) 20-10. Section lead: 24-6 (state lead)
Triple jump: Jordan Rosure (Sweetwater) 45-7.5 (second in section); Sherwin Brooks (Sweetwater) 43-6.5 (fifth in section); Gene Smith (Castle Park) 43-6. Section lead: 48-4
Shot put: Russ Foster (Bonita Vista) 56-11 (second in section); Fred Smith (Southwest) 52-3. Section lead: 61-10.75
Discus: Don Bonahoom (Eastlake) 165-6 (fourth in section); Russ Foster (Bonita Vista) 152-1; Roger Toledo (Sweetwater) 149-1; Kevin Baer (Eastlake) 145-0; Steve Nemecek (Chula Vista) 144-5. Section lead: 182-10

Metro Conference Girls Top Marks
(Through April 26)
Running Events/(electronic times)
100: Marla Mason (Chula Vista) 12.87; Niki O’Neal (Chula Vista) 12.94. Section lead: 11.98
200: Jackie Mandy (Chula Vista) 26.20; Marla Mason (Chula Vista) 26.91. Section lead: 24.7
400: Jackie Mandy (Chula Vista) 58.58 (fourth section). Section lead: 55.31
1600: Kristen Gonzalez (Bonita Vista) 5:19.55; Yenissa Kaeg (Montgomery) 5:27; Tiffany Caddell (Bonita Vista) 5:30.99. Section lead: 4:54.95
3200: Tiffany Caddell (Bonita Vista) 11:57.8. Section lead: 10:27.60
100 HH: Maggie Torres (Bonita Vista) 16.27; Kayleigh Knudson (Bonita Vista) 16.82. Section lead: 14.70
300 LH: Kayleigh Knudson (Bonita Vista) 49.33; Johanna Suasa (Chula Vista) 50.7. Section lead: 45.0
4x100 relay: Chula Vista 50.37; Eastlake 51.57; Castle Park 51.93; Bonita Vista 52.05. Section lead: 48.65
4x400 relay: Marian Catholic 4:21.07; Eastlake 4:24.0. Section lead: 4:05.69
Field Events
High jump: Shields (Bonita Vista) 5-2; Negron (Southwest) 5-2; Noble (Southwest) 5-2. Section lead: 5-4
Pole vault: Mariana Pastrana (Eastlake) 9-6; Megan Wilkinson (Eastlake) 9-0.