Keep it Running: Ericlee coaches cross country

Ericlee's newest venture this school year is coaching high school cross country. The team started with three devoted team members. Ericlee told them they needed six for him to coach. As you can see in this photo taken at the team dinner on our patio, the team has already tripled and now has 12 members. With seven boys and five girls they are able to compete as a team.
The school did not have enough funds to pay a coach and have a cross country team so the athletes (led by Doug Daniel, a particularly determined young man) raised the money to pay Ericlee's salary. Dorina pitched in by cooking an Italian fundraiser lunch a few weeks ago.
So far the team has competed in three meets and raked in seven individual medals, which has been very exciting for Fresno Christian H.S. Doug Daniel has won the most medals for the boys. Janae Ford and Whitney Chessum have pulled in two medals each and the girls team is already ranked 4th among Division 5 schools.
This is the first cross country team Fresno Christian has had in 20-some years. Putting together a team has been one of Ericlee's goals for 8 years. This is the first year he saw it materialize. He says it's great experience if he pursues coaching Track & Field and cross country at the college level in the future. Meilani has her running shoes ready to go.