Eight years after graduating from Juan Diego Catholic High School, Andrew Zinman is back in the cross country program, this time as the head coach.

“I’m excited to give back to the program and sport that really helped develop me as an athlete and a person,” said Zinman, who assisted the Soaring Eagle basketball team last season in his first year on campus as a teacher. “I really enjoy working with student-athletes so that they can meet their potential. I think cross country is a unique sport that stresses mental toughness, self-improvement, and community building. I hope to impart these aspects to my runners as well as to continue to develop the competitive nature of the Juan Diego Cross Country program.”

“Coach Zinman is passionate about the program and Juan Diego,” said athletic director Danny Larson. “I have no doubt he will do great things as a coach.”

Zinman said he is grateful for the opportunity to coach at his alma mater and for the uniqueness of Juan Diego. “This is a special community and program with dedicated students, parents, faculty, and administration,” he said. “I hope that I can continue building upon the work of my predecessor Joe Elliott, who for many years did an excellent job of creating continuity and expectations for success in the cross country program.”

This past summer, Zinman led workouts with the team’s runners to “build a strong endurance base for the season.” “As a coach I try to meet my athletes where they are at so that they can develop and achieve personal success in the sport,” he said. “Through our training, team building, and competitions I hope to develop both the running ability and character of the students in this program.”

The girls team, who were top 10 at the 3A state meet last season will be led by seniors Domiona Marine and Lauren Keegan along with sophomore Ria Kale. Newcomers who will also contribute on varsity are juniors Rickey Brown, Alana Johnson, sophomore Maggie Decker and freshman Ella Kerrigan. 

Back for the 12th-place boys squad are seniors Mango Madden, Sebastian Galindo-Ramierez and Owen Kotter along with sophomores Seamua Arndt, Colin Farr, Tyler Lengerich and William Yavelak. Sophomore Paul Claudon and freshman Elijah Emadi are “exciting additions” to the team as well.

Also on the JDCHS squads this season are seniors Lucas Dai, Omar Ramirez-Ferrel, Lauren Keegan, Domiona Marine, Jackson Stolz and Matthew Tita; juniors Remington Gray, Pavel Luque and Sean Mulligan; sophomores Seamus Arndt, Paul Claudon, Cameron Fairbanks, Colin Farr, Tyler Lengerich and William Yavelak; and freshmen Elijah Emadi, Jackson Kruse and Serese Wood.

Zinman will be assisted on the coaching staff by Nicole Schmidt, a former collegiate runner and coach at Florida Atlantic University.

In the team’s first meet at the Premier Invitational Aug. 10, Madden was 21st with a personal-best time of 17:26 while Galindo-Ramirez came in 25th to lead the boys to a sixth-place finish. Marine was 24th on the girls side.

“We had a great showing from many of our runners,” Zinman said.

At the RAC Invite at Rose Park Aug. 16, Kerrigan took 16th in the Frosh/Soph division with Marine coming in 25th in the Junior/Senior race. For the boys, Madden was 42nd in the Junior/Senior event and Arndt finished 36th in the Fresh/Soph group.

At Pre-Region at Wheeler Farm Aug. 21, Madden was third while Galindo-Ramirez came in fourth to lead the boys squad to a second-place finish with Arndt (eighth), Farr (10th) and Kotter (12th) rounding out the scoring. On the girls side, Kerrigan was fourth with Marine (10th), Decker (12th), Keegan (18th) and Wood (23rd) also among the top five runners.

“We are striving throughout the season to develop a team culture that is built on hard work and team unity,” Zinman said. “We hope to continue to progress and get stronger and faster as the year goes on.”

Juan Diego is also scheduled to compete at the Timpanogos Invite Aug. 30, the Juab Invite Sept. 5, the Carmelite Fair 5K Sept. 15 and the Bob Firman Invitational Sept. 27-28 before the Region 14 championship at Wheeler Farm (date still to be determined) and the 3A state meet Oct. 30. λ