This track and field season, athletes were welcomed by new faces on the coaching staff: Michael Hartman, Greg Sarkasian, Trevor Bales, Spencer Eley, Cian Fernandez, and Eva Kessler.

Hartman took over the position of head coach from Phillip Reid who succeeded James Brown the year prior. In addition to being the head football coach for Arroyo Grande High School, Hartman previously coached track for 25 years.

“Six years ago I decided to step away from track because I wanted to watch my own kids do their sports in the spring,” Hartman said.

So far, he is impressed with the team’s progress. 

“Our numbers are great,” Hartman said. “The kids have been working really hard, [and] I think they are going to surprise themselves once we start competing.”

Hartman began coaching track at St. Joseph High School where Sarkasian, a SJHS coach at the same time, initially asked him to help coach the throws team. Primarily working with the throwers, Hartman learned a lot from observing different coaching methods.

When he joined the staff at AGHS, Hartman continued coaching track and became a valuable part of the throws program. With his return from hiatus, Hartman has goals for the upcoming season.

“The long term goal is to get back to where we were,” Hartman said. “Arroyo Grande Track and Field was a monster. We have a state title. It was one of the premier programs not only on the Central Coast but in the southern section in the state of California. I want to get back to that.”

AGHS has a history of track and field athletes making it to CIF and State Championships. In 2001, the boys’ team won State, and Stephanie Brown Trafton was the 1998 State Champion for Discus.

“I really missed [track],” Hartman said. “It’s fun to be back out here.”

This year, Hartman convinced Sarkasian to join the AGHS coaching staff, just as Sarkasian convinced him to join the SJHS coaching staff years ago. 

Sarkasian is now the first official AGHS hurdle coach since Cameron Alarcio two years ago. 

“Hurdles is one of the events I like the best,” he said. 

Sarkasian coached track and field at St. Joseph for 37 years, but even that wasn’t his first coaching job. He began coaching track in 1976 at a school in San Joaquin Valley, and although Sarkasian himself never ran track, his father did, so he grew up going to track meets.

“My dad ran track when he was a kid back in the 1930s, and he ran the 400,” Sarkasian said. “He always took me to West Coast Relays.”

Sarkasian hopes that all the hurdlers achieve personal records (PRs) this season and also hopes to encourage their love for the sport.

“The most important part [of coaching] is to make the [athlete] feel good about themselves,” Sarkasian said.

In addition to hurdles, the distance program underwent some coaching changes this year. Bales became the new long distance coach for the 2024 track season after Reid, the previous cross country and distance coach, stepped down from coaching.

“It just kind of all fell together pretty nice,” Bales said. “I graduated college in May, and I got the coaching job.”

Bales is an AGHS alumni and was on both the cross country and track and field teams when he was in high school. Making the shift from athlete to coach is a huge change, but Bales found it to be a great learning experience. 

“When I got the coaching job, I realized I had to start making the runs and the workouts and plan ahead a lot,” Bales said. “I think it has been a good step. It has made me a little more responsible in how I do things and [improved my] time management.”

Bales’s goal for the distance squad is for both teams to score points in all three distance events. He also wants a League Champion in at least one of the events. 

Bales’s experience on the Arroyo Grande track team taught him the importance of commitment and participation.

“What I am trying to bring into this team is [that] showing up matters,” Bales said. “The more you show up, the better this team is going to be.”

The Cross Country team gained another new coach this year: AGHS alumni Eley. 

Although he coached Cross Country in the fall, Eley will be focusing on pole vault during this track season. 

“We have got a lot of [new vaulters] on the girls side, so it would be sweet to get them into scoring positions,” Eley said.

Eley currently holds the #2 spot on the All-Time list for AGHS pole vault.

“I ran cross country and track and field all four years, but pole vault was definitely [my] main [event],” he said.

Eley is co-coaching the pole vaulters with Fernandez, whom he has known for 10 years. Fernandez first began track in middle school and continued with the sport through high school and college. As a coach, he has a few goals for the AGHS pole vaulters.

“I want to help as many kids as possible get some PRs,” Fernandez said. “I would like to have a League Champion, both guys and girls. I want to score as many points as possible so that we can get a team championship.”

According to Fernandez, an athlete’s work ethic is extremely important to their success. 

“You’ve got to be out here every day,” he said. “You’ve got to come out with a good attitude. And you’ve got to give your full effort no matter how you are feeling that day. If you are sore, tired, you’ve still got to show up [and] put in the work. You get what you put into it.”

Hard work is also important to Kessler, who took over high jump after Brown—former head coach and high jump coach—retired after 49 years coaching.

“I have done track since middle school, and then I did it through high school and into college—I went to Cuesta—and I just loved it,” she said.

In high school, Kessler was a hurdler, long jumper, and high jumper. 

“I heard from some of my teammates who I saw around town that they needed a high jump coach and so I figured I could do it,” Kessler said.

Kessler believes every high jumper is unique and has different coaching needs. Some athletes are new to high jumping, and others haven’t had much coaching. 

“[The high jumpers] have really shown a lot of growth within these last couple weeks,” Kessler said.

Each athlete has their own personal motivation during meets, and according to Kessler, this motivation is vital for success.

“Find something to run for, find something to jump for, and that will help you go farther… or higher,” Kessler said.

Former coaches will be missed by the team, but AGHS Track and Field welcomes hardworking, new coaches to the 2024 season.