It was a season of successful beginnings for Esperanza boys track and field coach Rich Medellin.
In his first year as the replacement for one of the most successful coaches in county history, he was able to keep the program among the county’s elite, and he learned a lot about the nuances of his new role.
For a successful transition and his efforts throughout the season, Medellin has been selected as the Register’s 2010 Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year.
ALL-COUNTY: List of the All-County team.
ATHLETE: Athlete of the Year story.
“I thought I knew track and field, but this has been a process,” said Medellin. “When I was coaching distances, I was in my own world with those kids. Being the head coach helped me expand and be a better coach to all the kids on the team.”
Medellin, one of the county’s top cross country coaches, knew he had big shoes to fill when the track and field season began. He replaced longtime Aztecs head coach Al Britt, who led the Esperanza boys team to 16 league titles, four Orange County titles and two CIF titles in 28 years.
With a mix of senior standouts and emerging underclassmen on this year’s team, Medellin didn’t hide his high expectations for 2010.
“We really wanted to win the county and league championships this season,” he said. “This team had some seasoned athletes that worked hard and some good younger kids.”
At the Orange County Championships, Esperanza fell short of its quest to win the county title for the first time since 2003, finishing in third place.
Medellin recalled that meet serving as an important motivator for the team as the season reached the stretch run.
“It made us hungrier,” he said, “and it made us work a little harder going into league finals.”
Esperanza’s renewed desire paid off at the Sunset League finals, as the Aztecs won the team title by 80 points and produced six individual champions.
That momentum carried over to the CIF-SS Division 2 finals, where the Aztecs finished third, best among county teams in the division. Their 48 team points tied them with Woodbridge for the most team points by a county team in the four CIF-SS divisions.
“I think we had a good showing this year and have more kids coming up for next year,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep the ball rolling, keep our momentum going, and do a good job.”
