PAGE B10, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 11, 2022
SPORTS
New Cross Country coach joins
McNary; preaches hard work, fun
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Josh Christensen has been passionate
about running for the vast majority of his
life. Starting next fall, the Salem native
will be bringing his zeal for cross country
and track to Keizer.
Earlier this month, Christensen was
named the head cross county coach at
McNary High School. He will also work
at the school as a math teacher and serve
as an assistant coach on the track & field
staff.
While Christensen is the program's
third coach in three seasons, the 31-year
old made it clear that he wants to be at
the school for the long haul.
“I'm so excited. This is actually the
dream job. It's the job that I anticipate
to be at for the next 20-plus years. I am
very excited to return to Salem-Keizer,”
Christensen said. “I want the current
athletes to know that I'm the last cross
country coach they are going to have at
McNary. I'm going in with the attitude
that I am going to coach some of these
kids' kids.”
In just over a decade of coaching,
Christensen has already made a name
for himself in numerous spots along the
West Coast.
After a successful career as a stu-
dent-athlete at Salem Academy High
School, Christensen became the sprints
coach for the track team at his alma-ma-
ter, guiding the 4x100 relay team to a
state title in 2010.
Christensen left the Salem area to
compete in track and cross country for
Westmont College in Santa Barbara,
Calif for two years before returning to
the Willamette Valley to be an assistant
for Salem Academy's cross country team
in 2013.
In 2014, Christensen got the opportu-
nity to fulfill a coaching dream, working
with local legend Don Berger. Berger
was the track and cross country coach
at North Salem High School for more
than four decades and was even rec-
ognized as the 2016 National Coach of
the Year for girls track and field by the
National Federation of State High School
Associations Coaches Association.
Even though Christensen was Berger's
assistant for just a few months, the expe-
rience had a profound impact on him.
“That was a bucket list experience for
me. I had always wanted to work in a pro-
gram with Don. Getting to coach under
him was awesome and inspirational.
That season was absolutely pivotal in my
coaching experience. I just learned that
you can take coaching seriously and it
could be something that you could do
forever,” Christensen said.
Christensen went back to Santa
Barbara to coach and teach at Dos
Pueblos High School, becoming the
head cross country coach in 2015 and
the head track and field coach in 2016.
He helped send the cross county team to
the California Interscholastic Federation
(CIF) finals in his first year at the helm
of the cross country team and coached
multiple kids that set school records and
went onto Division I programs.
“I inherited a good program and
we were able to keep the ball rolling,”
Christensen said. “I learned a lot real
quick. I felt like I started to find my sweet
spot as a coach.”
Christensen, along with his wife,
Emily, moved to Portland in 2017. Despite
not being connected in the coaching
scene at the time, Christensen wound up
being hired to coach at Columbia River
High School in Vancouver.
Although the program had struggled
in recent years, Christensen took the
team from placing eighth in the district
to competing for a state championship
just two years later. The squad also tri-
pled in size during his tenure.
“People started believing that we
could do some really good stuff. It was
a really big jump. A lot of it was just a
change in confidence,” Christensen said.
Christensen's peers took notice of
Columbia River's success as he was
named the 2018-19 Vancouver Public
Schools Coach of the Year and the 2019
Greater St. Helens League Coach of the
Year for boys cross country.
“Josh is truly a great coach in every
aspect. It is very clear that he has a huge
passion for the sport and it is truly infec-
tious. I feel like I wouldn’t have nearly as
successful or fall so deeply in love with
the sport of running without Josh. It felt
very clear that he cares deeply about his
athletes and wants to work with them to
find and obtain their own version of suc-
cess. He is able to channel everyone’s
strengths and passion to make seasons
really enjoyable and exciting,” said for-
mer Columbia River runner Theron
Kramer. “He challenged me and pushed
me to achieve goals I didn’t even con-
sider were possible at the time. I didn’t
even consider running in college, but by
track season senior year I had a couple
local schools reach out to me. I think
that was because of how he pushed me
towards those goals that I set for myself.
I have only great things to say about him
as a coach and person.”
Christensen has coached a litany of
high-level runners over the last decade,
but one of the biggest staples of his pro-
gram is creating a team for everyone,
where all athletes have a role.
“I want to facilitate opportunities for
athletes to have fun, to make memories
and to be a part of something bigger than
themselves,” Christensen said. “And part
of having fun and making memories is
competing at a high level. Everyone has
a role on the team. You don't have to be
a part of the top seven to be a part of the
Josh Christensen is the new head coach for McNary High School cross country
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
program. That is a signature part of my
coaching style, everyone is very involved
regardless of how fast they are.”
One of the mothers of Christensen's
former athletes will always be apprecia-
tive of Christensen’s approach to coach-
ing, as well as the role that he played in
her son's life.
Peggie Moreno-Lore's son, Issac, was
diagnosed with autism at the age of five.
She admitted that he struggled to make
friends in middle school, and was wor-
ried about how he would handle his four
years of high school.
She convinced Issac to go out for
cross county, where he quickly found a
passion for running and an atmosphere
to create lasting friendships under the
watchful eye of Christensen. In his first
year with the team, Issac was given the
Most Improved award at the end of the
season.
Issac is now in college and runs on
his own nearly every day. Moreno Lore
credits Christensen for helping her son
develop his new passion.
“Coach Christensen really looked out
for Isaac and challenged him around
every corner. He was kind to Isaac and
really taught him how to be safe and how
to take care of his body,” Moreno-Lore
said. “The team was something we were
all excited to be a part of. From summer
camps to far away invitationals, we were
along for the ride. He is a trusted indi-
vidual and is highly regarded among the
athletes and parents, past and present.
He helped my kid learn a lifelong skill.
I am forever grateful for him as a coach
and a friend.”
Christensen has spent the last two
seasons as an assistant cross country and
track coach at Lincoln High School — he
will remain with Lincoln until the end of
the 2022 track season.
As a nationally renowned program,
Christensen helped the team build on
their success. Both boys’ and girls’ teams
finished in the top 20 in the nation
and got the chance to compete in the
National meet in Huntsville, Ala.
Lincoln head coach Eric Dettman
mentioned that he was most impressed
with Christensen's ability to develop the
team's younger runners.
“Josh is a supremely talented young
coach and I’m excited to watch his
work within the McNary program. His
stint at Lincoln, though short, has been
instrumental in continuing to develop
a winning culture within our program,”
Dettman said. “Halfway through our
past XC season, I asked Josh to primar-
ily focus on our freshman boys as they
weren’t progressing the way I’d hoped.
He began writing workouts and instilling
a sense of pride within that group that
showed in the classroom, at practice and
during competition. From that point for-
ward they acted like completely different
people, motivated and thirsty for more. It
was no surprise to me that our freshman
improved tremendously in the six weeks
that he led them.
“I’m so excited for this next opportu-
nity for Josh, and although I’m sad he
won’t be part of our program, I know he’s
going to do incredible things at McNary.
Josh is a leader wherever he goes and I
can’t wait to watch that program thrive.”