Shafter's Sundgren is Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year
| Friday, Dec 31 2010 09:58 PM
Last Updated Friday, Dec 31 2010 09:58 PM
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When Darin Sundgren left North High for a teaching job at Shafter four years ago, he needed a break from coaching cross country.
"I'm a Midwestern person (from Kansas) who's really loyal, and I really struggled leaving North High and then going somewhere else right away," Sundgren said.
Turns out, he couldn't stay away for more than half a year. By springtime, he was coaching Shafter's distance runners in track, and the next fall, he was assisting longtime cross country coach Terry Lewis. By Year 3, with Lewis unable to coach full-time, Sundgren was the head man.
Year 4 turned out to be the best of all. Sundgren led both the boys and girls Generals teams to South Sequoia League titles, and he took the girls to the Division III Central Section crown. For that, he is The Californian's Coach of the Year.
Sundgren becomes the first cross-country coach to be honored at two schools after he won the boys and girls Coach of the Year award at North in 1998.
"Any time your peers honor you, it's the greatest honor you can get," he said. "One of my goals once I got to Shafter was to win a Valley title."
-- ZACH EWING
