SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Chad Worthen, who guided St. Francis Catholic High School to the Delta League cross country championship last Saturday, has been appointed as the school's head track & field coach, Director of Athletics Ryan Chisolm announced Monday.
Worthen's role begins immediately. The CIF track & field season begins in February.
"When we brought in Coach Worthen to head our cross country program, we knew he was a perfect fit for our school's mission and tradition. He has more than lived up to those expectations, and I look forward to seeing Chad share his expertise and enthusiasm to our track & field student-athletes in the spring," said Chisolm.
The Troubadours' league title represents their fifth consecutive and their 23rd since 1989. The championship event also marked the team's sixth varsity meet win of the year, along with the Oakmont Invitational, Lagoon Valley Classic, Jessup Invitational, Delta League Center Meet and Tom Laythe Invitational.
Worthen is no stranger to the track & field scene, most recently serving as an assistant coach at Oak Ridge High School (2020-22) and head coach at Inderkum High (2015-20). Prior to that, he founded and helmed track and cross country for Oak Hill Racing, now known as Sacramento Valley Endurance. In fact, Worthen began his coaching career during the spring season – as an assistant at Sierra College and Sacramento State in the late 1990s.
In his decade plus between Oak Hill Racing and Sacramento Valley Endurance, Worthen coached 20 Junior Olympic athletes and more than 100 All-Americans. He also served as FIT Training director and head coach for Fleet Feet Racing Sacramento from 2008 to 2020.
Worthen's career as runner is equally diverse, ranging from sprinting at Roseville High and Sierra College to running middle distances at Sac State. In his final meet as a Hornet, he finished sixth in the 800 meters at the American West Conference championship. Worthen continued to increase the distance of his training and competitions beyond his collegiate career, eventually running his first marathon in 1998. This began a journey that culminated with his qualifying to the U.S. Olympic Trials in that event in 2004, a win at the 2008 San Francisco Marathon and a runner-up finish at the 2009 Eugune Marathon.
Even Worthen's educational background is well-rounded: he earned his associate degree in computer science from Sierra College, then his bachelor's degree in kinesiology and exercise science from Sac State. Most recently, he added a master's in sports leadership from Concordia.
St. Francis finished fourth at last year's Sac-Joaquin Section Division I meet, then tied for second at the CIF-SJS Masters Meet. The Troubies set four individual records in 2022: Maddie Pelfrey in the pole vault, Tatiana Cornejo in the mile, and Cate Joaquin in each of the 1,600 and 3,200. SF also claimed five Delta League titles last spring: Joaquin in the 1,600 and 3,200, Cornejo in the 800, Pelfrey in the pole vault, and Grace Heisinger in the 300 hurdles.
Worthen currently guides Troubie cross country through its final stretch of the 2022 season. The team heads to SJS Sub-Section Championships in Angels Camp Saturday.
