Santa Rosa Cross Country has been in existence at least since 1956 when Daryl Beardall ran in Orange and Black. At that time all cross country races were limited to under 2 miles. Santa Rosa is recognized as one of the premier cross country programs in Northern California. Our team has competed in Alabama, Ohio, New York, and Canada.
Current coach Doug Courtemarche took over as head coach in 1992, following in the footsteps of Ken Goetzel and Gene DeSoto. Bob Shor has been with the team since 1994. Carrie Joseph came on as an assistant in 1997, and Sean Fitzpatrick joined the group in 2001.
Highlights -- Boys:
In 1962, the second year of the NBL championships, SRHS won the league championship, led by league champion Bob Whitright. SRHS boys have won the league titles 1968, 1970, 1975, 1988, 1994, 2001, and 2008.
Santa Rosa boys won the North Coast Section Championships in Division 1 in 1994.
The boys have sent teams to the State Championships in 1988, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009.
NCS Individual Champions from Santa Rosa were Steve Guerrini 1988, Peter Egerton 1994, and Reesey Byers in 2009.
The highest finishing boy Panther at the State meet was Reesey Byers in 2009 finishing 8th with the fastest time ever from a runner in the Redwood Empire.
Steve Guerrini finished 10th at the State meet in 1990.
The best team finish at State for the boys was 8th in 1994.
In 2001 the boys team won the Xavier Invitational in New York City, soundly defeating all of the local and nearby schools.
Highlights – Girls:
Girls Cross Country began at Santa Rosa in 1975 when law demanded that girls get equal treatment is sports competition.
Santa Rosa girls won their first league title in 1984 and followed up with league titles in 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, and 1998.
The girls won the North Coast Section Championships in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996.
NCS Individual Champions from Santa Rosa were Rhonda Mazza 1990, Nika Horn 1991, Megan Reeder 1992, Michelle McConnico 1993, Julia Stamps 1994, 1995, 1996 Trina Cox 1997, 1998.
The girls have sent teams in to the State meet in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998. The girls best finish at State was 6th in 1991 and 7th in 1997 (but finished 9th in all divisions combined.)
Nika Horn finished 8th at the State meet in 1991.
Julia Stamps was State Champion in 1994, 1995, and 1996.
Trina Cox was State champion in 1997 and she finished 2nd in 1998.
In 1997 the girls competed at the Vulcan Invitational in Alabama finishing 3rd in the largest Cross Country Invitational in the South (without #2 runner)
Clearly you can see that you are part of a special program. Our program is not just about these “highlights” though. It is about the freshman girl who can’t break 30 minutes at Spring Lake but runs it in 22 minutes when she is a senior. It is about a sprinter (who made it to the State track championships) deciding to run cross country to stay fit, only to find himself as an integral #7 runner on a State-bound team. Now it is your turn to make your mark, create your own legacy, and go down in SRHS history.
