2009 girls cross country Co-Coach of the Year: Bill Sumner

The Corona del Mar girls cross country team began the 2009 season with the same customary designs of a championship that has fueled the program to become the most successful girls programs in the county.

But instead of the dominant success they’ve become accustomed to over the last few seasons, this year’s team was forced to improve from meet to meet, while constantly displaying a high level of resiliency and mental toughness.

At the helm of that effort was head coach Bill Sumner, who helped the girls remain focused on their goals while instilling in them the confidence to succeed.

For his overall steady leadership in guiding Corona del Mar to an unprecedented level of success, Sumner has been selected as the 2009 girls cross country Co-Coach of the Year.

"When you get create a tradition, the thought is that we’re going to get a CIF and a state championship" said Sumner. "The first thing we had to teach the girls is that they had to earn it."

Illness and injury hurt the team early. In their first chance to compete against the county’s best, Corona del Mar finished a disappointing seventh at the Orange County Championships, while fellow Division III powerhouse Orange Lutheran claimed its’ first ever title.

Sumner acknowledged that the Lancers breakthrough performance at the county showcase meet forced his team to work harder to make up ground.

"This team was very motivated and put in a lot of work in the summer," he said. "But when the numbers started coming in, we knew we had to chase them and they were very good."

The Sea Queens finally began to show signs of becoming a CIF contender late in the season, winning the Pacific Coast League title.

Going into CIF, Sumner and the team knew what the first step would be in order to be successful.

"The first thing we had to do was decide who it was that we had to beat," said Sumner. "Once we did that, we had to make the commitment."

That team to beat proved to be the Lancers again, who were the No. 1 ranked team in the county and CIF-SS Division III.

After both teams put forth impressive showings at the Division III preliminaries, they locked up in a classic battle at the CIF-SS Division III finals, where the Lancers ended Corona del Mar’s run of five straight titles by three points.

Undeterred by the loss, the Sea Queens engaged in another tight showdown with Orange Lutheran at the Division III state final. The Lancers held the lead entering the final mile, but Corona del Mar rallied over the final 800 meters of the race to edge Orange Lutheran by five points and remain tied with University High of San Francisco the most CIF state titles won (7) since the state meet began in 1987.

"That moment was special because it was all about the seven girls that helped win that title," Sumner said.