Shorecrest administrators didn’t have to look far to find new track and field coaches.
Brandon Christensen and Beth Goenen were chosen to take over for longtime coach Don Dalziel, who was promoted to Shoreline District athletic director in June.
Both Christensen and Goenen are teachers at Shorecrest and were part of Dalziel’s coaching staff. Goenen also coaches cross country at Shorecrest and Christensen is an assistant football coach.
“We’ll complement each other pretty well,” Goenen said. “We’re both pretty young and we’re still developing our coaching character. It’s good we’re coming in together and we can build on the foundation that’s already in place.”
Though on paper Christensen was hired as boys coach and Goenen as girls coach, the duo isn’t dividing the program down the middle. Athletes are grouped by event, not gender.
“This is my first time in a head coaching position and I couldn’t be more excited about it,” said Christensen, a Kamiak High School and Central Washington University graduate.
As an assistant Christensen’s focus was the throws. Next year he inherits the sprints and relays from Dalziel.
“That was really his area of expertise and I learned a lot helping him out the past couple years,” Christensen said. “Don was a great mentor. He was not only teaching the kids, he was teaching me.”
Christensen initially joined the coaching staff to share his strength training and conditioning knowledge. But his interest in track took off and he enrolled in several coaching clinics.
“My thought process coming in was to do something to help out the athletes who play football and solidify the program,” Christensen said. “I was brought in to help out with the training aspect and I ended up falling in love with it.”
Goenen has been involved with the Shorecrest track program for five years. She helped Dalziel with the sprints her first season and spent the next two years with the high jumpers before switching to the distance events.
“That’s where my heart and my experience is,” said Goenen, who ran for Mariner High School and the University of Puget Sound’s national champion women’s cross country team.
Last spring the Scots registered their best showing at the league level in Dalziel’s 13 years as coach. The Shorecrest girls placed second at the 10-team Western Conference South Division championships and the boys took third.
“We were a real young team last year. If we get the same athletes out again next year, we should be in great shape,” Christensen said.
“For the last 13 years Shorecrest has been a program that’s well respected around Wesco and at the state level. We want to keep that going.”
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