2024 Coaching staff
Paul Byrne - Head Coach - Pole Vault (2010-present) - lajollatrack@gmail.com - Coach Byrne is from Chula Vista and graduated from Castle Park High School in '95. He competed in the pole vault his junior and senior years and also ran the hurdles his senior year. Paul starting his coaching career at Castle Park in '97 for two seasons. After taking a short break while getting his degree and teaching credential at SDSU, he resumed coaching the pole vault in '02 at Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley for 6 seasons. In 2010, he became the pole vault coach for La Jolla High. He took over the head coaching duties in 2015.
Mandy Benham - Distance/High Jump (2015-present) - mandybenham@gmail.com - Coach Benham graduated from Clairemont High School in '79 while competing in cross country and track and field as a high jumper and 800 meter runner. She competed for UCSD in cross country and track in the 800 and 1500 meters. She graduated from UCSD in '84 and worked as a mechanical engineer for 10 years before relocating to San Jose with her family. For 3 years, she coached high jump and distance at Lynbrook High School, then took over as the head girls coach at St. Francis High School for 7 years. Mandy's youngest is currently studying and at UCSD and competing in the pole vault.
Nick Gastaldo - Shot Put, Discus (2018-present) - gastaldo33@gmail.com - Nick was born and raised in Valencia, California where he competed for West Ranch High School until 2013. While there he competed on both the football and track and field team. He then attended UCSD and threw hammer, discus, and shot put for the track and field team. This is his first year coaching and is excited to share his knowledge and passion of track with the student-athletes.
Jason DeVries - Pole vault (2019-present) - jasonddevries@yahoo.com - Jason DeVries graduated from Unity Christian High School in Hudsonville, Michigan in 1998 where he competed and held the school record of 14’7” in the pole vault. He then attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan competing in the decathlon and pole vault with a personal best of 15’9” and competed in the D-III National Championships in 2002. He graduated with a degree in Biology and minored in Biotechnology. He also coached at Calvin College from 2005 to 2008. He is looking forward to working with the athletes to improve their personal records and the enjoyment of the sport of track and field.
Kelli Hancock - Sprints/Hurdles (2018, 2021-present) - kellisheahancock@gmail.com - Kelli graduated from La Jolla High in 2013 after competing as a Viking for four years. She holds both hurdle records at La Jolla High and the 6th all-time 300 m hurdle mark in San Diego County. After high school, she competed in indoor and outdoor track and field at Washington University in St. Louis where she studied biomedical engineering. There, she earned 10 NCAA Division III All-American accolades as well as four national championship titles with her team and competed in the 400 m hurdles, 400 m, 4x400 relay, and distance medley relay events. Kelli also used her final season of NCAA eligibility as a graduate student at Duke University and volunteered as an assistant coach to the Duke track and field team for the subsequent 2019-2020 season. Kelli is eager to share her love of track and field and the lessons it has to offer with the current LJHS track and field team. Go Vikes!
Kurt Rustin - Sprints/Hurdles (2021-present) - kurtr96@gmail.com - Kurt graduated from La Jolla High in 2014 after competing as a Viking for four years. He completed in hurdles primarily and served as track captain his junior and senior years. After high school, he competed in indoor and outdoor track and field at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona where he studied mechanical engineering and mathematics. There, he competed in javelin and later in decathlon. Now Kurt works as a full time mechanical engineer in San Diego, working on new technologies in the semiconductor industry. However, Kurt is always excited to volunteer and help his former team learn new skills, grow as student athletes, achieve their individual goals, and of course eat burritos.
Taylor Eljenholm - Triple Jump, Long Jump (2022-present) - teljenholm@sandi.net - Coach Taylor was born and raised in Dana Point, California. She graduated from Dana Hills High School in 2013 where she holds top 10 records in the long jump, triple jump and high jump. She continued her track career at UC San Diego, where she competed in the heptathlon, as well as triple jump. She graduated from UCSD in 2017 with a communications degree and a minor in education studies. After graduating, she continued her education at UCSD, where she received a masters degree in elementary education. She is currently a kindergarten teacher in San Diego and is excited to have the opportunity to share her knowledge of the horizontal jumps with La Jolla High School student athletes.
Christina Saffran - Distance (2023) - csaffan@sandi.net - Coach Saffran is a first-year coach at La Jolla High. She decided to give coaching a try after an 18-year run as Hoover High’s Head Athletic Trainer. Coach Chris ran varsity xc, indoor track, and track and field for all 4 years at Catonsville High school in Baltimore, MD., where she was part of the 1992 Indoor Track State championship team and the 1993 xc State championship team. She ran both xc and track and field her freshman year at Roanoke College, but later transitioned into her role as a student athletic trainer. In her free time, Coach Chris enjoys running half marathons and marathons. She excited to be a part of LJHS T&F!
Adam Dailey - Distance (2023) - adamdailey@gmail.com - Coach Dailey wanted to get involved with La Jolla track out after working with the LJXC team this past Fall, where he enjoyed getting to train with his daughter Chiara. Coach Dailey has been involved in track and field for more than 30 years. His business took Olympic athletes/sponsors/coaches to the Olympics/Olympic Trials from 2004-2018. Coach Dailey was a Texas State Champ and multiple time All-American in high school. He earned a scholarship to the University of Arkansas, where he was part of 9 NCAA Championship teams (including one Triple Crown, where they won Cross Country/Indoor Track and Outdoor Track in the same year). He's excited to bring his experience being part of such a high performing team to LJHS. Individually, Coach Dailey was a 2 time SEC Champion and 5 time NCAA All American at Arkansas. He ran 13:54/28:34 in college (for 5,000/10,000 meters) and competed in both of those events in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials. Almost two decades later, Coach Dailey won the La Jolla Half Marathon (and ran 1:07) as a 42 year old in 2019.
Keaton Wood - Sprints (2024) - keatonwood21@gmail.com - Keaton recently moved to San Diego after wrapping up his Master’s Degree in 2022. He competed in both Football & Track at Linfield University where he was a 2x All-American and 2x National Runner-up as a Decathlete. He holds the school record in the decathlon (7,254) which is also the 6th highest score in NCAA DIII history, and ranks 2nd in school history in the 110 meter hurdles. Keaton's performances during both the indoor and outdoor seasons earned him the titles of Male Athlete of the Year and West Region Athlete of the Year in his final year at Linfield. Keaton is looking forward to immersing himself into the track world again and can’t wait to share his passion for the sport with the LJHS team!"
Ben Martin - Sprints (2024) - benm_42@yahoo.com - Coach Ben Martin was a high school state champion in the 100m dash, the anchor leg of the state champion 4x100m relay team and was coached by UCLA All-American Paul Williams. Additionally, he was honored as a 1995 USA Today and Schutt Sports Group High School Football All-American Honorable Mention. In 1996, Coach Martin accepted an offer to attend the US Air Force Academy to play football and run track. Coach Martin was guided by legendary Air Force Academy Track and Field Coach Ralph Lindeman, who also served as Sprint Coach for the US Olympic Festival team. Coach Martin honed his knowledge in the art of sprinting through a scientific approach and became the number 2 sprinter on the team-- ultimately clocking a personal best of 10.6 seconds in the 100m dash. In 1998, Coach Martin transferred to the University of Wyoming where he continued his college football career and, during the spring, volunteered to coach sprints for the Laramie High School Track and Field Team for two seasons. Following graduation, in 2002, Coach Martin entered the US Air Force where he became a Special Agent with the Office of Special Investigations, specializing as an Anti-Terrorism Specialty Team member. He served 4 tours in Iraq attached to various multi-service units and was awarded the Bronze Star, two Meritorious Service Medals, the US Army Commendation Medal, US Air Force Commendation Medal, the US Army Combat Action Badge, and the US Air Force Combat Action Medal. Moreover, Coach Martin completed the arduous process of becoming a certified Krav Maga instructor and trained (coached) hundreds of US and partner nation soldiers/airmen/marines on combat self-defense techniques. Since 2002, Coach Martin has provided personalized sprint/agility/strength & conditioning training to scores of high school and Division 1 college athletes. In 2015, Coach Martin earned his master’s degree in criminology from Arizona State University and began his career as a federal criminal investigator with the Department of Homeland Security. Coach Martin is married to his college sweetheart, Catherine (Schmoldt) Martin, and has three children (Harrison, Reese, and Charlie).
Ciro Pluma - Sprints/Distance (2024) - cpluma0944@gmail.com - Ciro is an alumni from La Jolla High competing all four years for the cross country and track and field teams. He attended San Diego Mesa College and competed in track for two years while attending there. In 2022, he graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor's Degree. This is his first year helping out the team and hopes to share his love and knowledge for the sport.
Past coaches
Deyna Roberson - Sprints, Hurdles, Relays (2015-2019) - deyna56@gmail.com - Coach Roberson was born and raised in San Diego. She attended Kearny High School and ran varsity track and field and cross country. Deyna graduated from UCSD with a Theater Pre-medical degree. While running track she competed in the 4x400 relay, 400 m, 800 m, 400 hurldes, and 100 hurdles. She received 3 NCAA All-American titles. At SDSU, she received her Masters in Public Health, where she also competed in the 400 hurdles and the 4x400 relay and won conference championships in both events and went on to run in the first round of nationals. Deyna has a love of track and field and hopes to share her knowledge, passion, and experience with the students at La Jolla High.
Ron Brookins - Sprints, Hurdles (2016-2019) - rbrookins619@gmail.com - Coach Brookins was born and raised in San Diego. While attending Helix High School he competed in varsity track and football. He continued to pursue track and field once her was awarded a scholarship to attend Sacramento State University. At Sac State he competed in the 110m hurdles, 100m, long jump, 4x100m relay and the occasional 4x400m, receiving 5 All-American titles in the individual events. He graduated with a degree in Business Management in 2011 and since then has continued to pursue track professionally. Most recently, he ran in the USA Olympic Trials in the summer of 2016 in the 110 high hurdles. Ronald's love for track and love to share his experiences as well as knowledge is what brought him to coaching.
Tori Usgaard - Sprints/Hurdles (2020) - tausgaard@gmail.com - Coach Usgaard graduated from Dana Hills High School in 2012 where she went on to UC Santa Barbara to compete as a heptathlete. Tori graduated in 2017 from UCSB with a Chemical Engineering degree and was voted UCSB's Female Student Athlete of the year. She received NCAA Second Team All-American honors in 2017 for the heptathlon. She is ranked on the UCSB all-time list for the heptathlon, long jump, 100m hurdles, javelin, and school record 4x400m. She is a passionate track and field enthusiast and looks forward to working with the athletes to help them accomplish their goals.
Roger Karnopp - Triple Jump, Long Jump (2016-2021) - rrkarnopp@gmail.com - Roger Karnopp, a retired teacher, has been coaching for over 50 years. He spent 27 years as the head coach of the track and field and cross country programs at Grossmont High School and La Jolla High School. While at La Jolla, he won two CIF track titles with the girls teams. He also spent 24 years at the collegiate and university level, coaching all three of the jumps. While at UCSD he had 12 Division III All-American athletes, two of which were National Champions in their respective events. Roger is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton and has 3 sons, two of which were tennis players for La Jolla High.
Jim Geddes - High Jump (2019-2022) - jgeddes234@gmail.com - Coach Geddes, a retired teacher, graduated from La Jolla High School in 1973. He set a school record at 6’7 ¼”, was All Western League, placed 2nd in the high jump at the SD CIF Finals, went on to place 2nd at the CIF State Championships in Woodland, California. He competed at Mesa Jr College from 73-75 in the high jump, transferred to San Diego State University and in May of 1976 placed 2nd at the Big West Conference Championships and two weeks later he competed at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships. His PR in the high jump is 2.14m (7’1/4”). This is his first year coaching on staff and he’s excited to contribute to the team as he works with student-athletes in the high jump.
Isaiah Hilton - Mid-distance (2019-2022) - isaiah.hilton@yahoo.com - Isaiah Hilton graduated from Wayne County High School in Jesup, GA in 2011. At WCHS Isaiah competed in cross country and track. Isaiah was a part of three state qualifying cross country teams, competed in the 400m, 800m, and 4x400m relay, he set school records in the 400m and 800m as well as winning the Region 2-4A 800m his junior year in 2010 as well as qualifying for the state meet. Isaiah went on to attend the University of South Carolina where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts and Sciences in Biology. While attending USC he competed in indoor and outdoor track his Freshman and Sophomore years competing in the 800m, 1500m, 1 Mile, 4x400m, 4x800m, and distance medley relay as the 1200m leg. Isaiah competed in the 800m at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2012 his Freshman year. Since graduating from the University of South Carolina Isaiah has served in the United States Navy. Isaiah has been accepted into the University of San Diego’s Master in Education Curriculum and Instruction Dual Credential program for Fall 2019 with the intent to teach Biology in High School and coach track and field and cross country.
Adam Kittlaus - Hurdles/Sprints (2022-2023) - amkittlaus@yahoo.com - Adam, a graduate of Blair High School in Silver Spring MD, class of ’79, where he ran varsity track for three years. (It was a three year high school back then.) Adam competed in the 400, 800, 300 hurdles as well as 4x400 and 4x800 relays. He qualified for the state finals each year and was team captain his senior year when the Blazers won the team state title. Coach K, as his teams have called him, started coaching at Kearny High about ten years ago where he coached both cross country and track and field, concentrating on hurdles and relays. Coach K joined the La Jolla cross country team four seasons ago while also coaching at Point Loma High for track season. Adam, a life long runner, is looking forward to his first track season at LJHS. He hopes to share his love for the sport as well as help our runners reach their potential as individuals and as a team.
Rosina Garcia - Distance (2023) - rgarcia18@sandi.net - Coach Garcia graduated from high school in Los Angeles in 2013 while competing in cross country and track as a 1600 and 800 runner (and whatever else her coach decided to throw her into). She competed in the competitive Southern Section and qualified for CIF in track all four years with the 4x400 relay team and the 800 her senior year. Rosina teaches biology at LJHS and is excited to work with students outside the classroom as well.
Justin Hunt - Sprints/Relays (2023) - justinhunt@justblackk.com -