Coaching Staff

Jason Lienau, Director of Cross-Country for the Clovis North Area, Asst. Track & Field Coach (Distances):  

Coach Lienau is a graduate of Clovis HS were he ran track and cross-country.  In college, he attended and competed for Fresno State where he was a 2 x Conference Cross-Country Champion and focused primarily on the 1500m in track.  Post collegiately, he continued his running career while competing for the Reebok Aggie Running Club as a 3000m steeplechaser.  His coaching/teaching careers started at Garfield Elementary.  After a 5 year stay there, he moved on to Alta Sierra Intermediate to teach Academic Block and to coach the xc and track teams.  His teams won league titles 5 straight years in xc in his six years there, and in track took league honors as well.  After one year assisting at Buchanan HS, Coach Lienau started the programs at Clovis North when the school opened in 2007.  After three years at the helm of the track and field program, he handed off the baton to Richard Brazil, the current track and field program coach.  Coach Lienau's wife's name is Connie (who is a huge help at Camp and the Awards Banquet, among so many things) and has three wonderful children:  Anna, Lauren, and Reed.  Coach Lienau can be reached at jasonlienau@cusd.com.

Marci Emmons, Asst. Cross-Country, Asst. Track & Field (Distances)

Coach Marci started running when she was just 5 years old for the Northridge Pacers!  When she was 9 years old, whe became the National Champion in Cross-Country.  She continued running at Kastner Intermediate and Clovis West High School where she still holds an all-time top 10 record in the 1600m.  She went on to run on the traveling team at BYU in college.  She then moved back home and ran at Fresno City College where she still holds top 10 records in the 3000m and 5000m.  She now has 7 beautiful children and works in the Special Education  Department at Granite Ridge.  This is her second year coaching cross-country and track for Clovis North!  Coach Marci can be reached at marciemmons@cusd.com 

Ellie Nardella, Asst. Cross-Country

Coach Ellie was a standout at Buchanan HS in her high school days.  She was a varsity member on a very successful girls team.  She competed in xc and track all four years of high school, accomplishing times of 18:52 (5k/xc), 11:14 (3200), and 5:10 (1600).  She earned a scholarship to run at Pt. Loma University in San Diego.   She is currently a senior at Utah Tech University, graduating in the spring with a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology.  She also teaches on the Clovis North campus in the SPED Department.  Coach Ellie can be reached at ellienardella@cusd.com 

Justin Sloan, Asst. Cross-Country

Coach Justin joins us this year after a year with our feeder, Granite Ridge.  In fact, he is pulling double duty by coaching with both staffs this fall!  He is a recruiter for the US Army.  As an athlete, Justin qualified for the State Championships in the 3200m in Missouri.  We are excited to have Justin joining us this year!  Coach Sloan can be reached at justinsloan326@gmail.com