Jeremy Mattern, coach of the Brea Olinda boys cross country team and the distance coach for the school’s track team, is leaving the school to take a job at Granada High of Livermore.
The Wildcats’ coach of 14 years cited family reasons for the move.
“I have family up in the Bay Area. My wife and I don’t really have any family close by,” said Mattern, referencing the necessity to move the couple’s two young kids closer to their family. “We’re just relocating to be close to family so that my kids can have the experience of being close to their grandparents.”
At Granada High, Mattern will coach alongside his brother and former UC Davis teammate, Noel, who heads the school’s cross country program.
Mattern helped deliver Brea Olinda’s boys cross country team to its first state title this past fall. The Wildcats also won back-to-back CIF-SS Division 3 titles, two straight Orange County Championships and six consecutive league crowns.
“I feel incredibly bad about leaving the athletes,” Mattern said. “They’ve invested a lot in the program. I’ve invested a lot in them.”
Mattern’s assistant coach, Joe Wiley, was hired by Canyon in the winter to replace outgoing Comanches distance coach Patrick Bendzick. Brea’s girls cross country coach Matt Rainwater, is expected to take over the Wildcats’ boys cross country program, which should be a CIF-SS contender next season behind returning state champion Austin Tamagno.
