Coaches
Robert Claesson
Head Coach
(619) 644-7882
robert.claesson@gcccd.edu
Head Coach Robert Claesson has been directing the Grossmont
College Women’s Cross Country team since 2004. A native of San
Diego, Robert attended Partrick Henry High School, Grossmont
College, and Humboldt State University where he competed in track
and field.
Coach Robert Claesson is a Fitness Professional with over
20 years of experience as a personal trainer. He has eighteen years
of coaching experience with athletes of all ages and levels in cross
country and has coached every event in track and field. He began his
coaching career as an Assistant Track and Field Coach at Monterey
Peninsula College, he was Head Track and Field Coach and Assistant
Cross Country Coach at Carmel High School, Assistant Cross Country
and Track & Field Coach at Humboldt State University, Assistant
Coach at Patrick Henry High School, Assistant Coach at La Costa
Canyon High School, Assistant Track & Field Coach at California
State University San Marcos, and is currently an Assistant Track and Field Coach at
Cuyamaca College.
“As a former Grossmont
College Student Athlete I take great pride in the responsibility of
maintaining the tradition of Grossmont College’s excellent Cross
Country Program. I'm determined to keep this program at the high
standard that was created by the coaches and athletes before me.”
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Coach Claesson’s 2008 season review
The 2008 cross country season was a great step toward returning
to the high level that Grossmont College cross country is known for.
The women on this years’ team were very talented and raced
competitively. Grossmont started out at the first meet by beating
teams ranked in the top 10 in the state. Led by soph. Sarah Stuebe
and frosh. Traci Wetzel all season, who both ended up earning All
Conference. Sarah and Traci also led the team as they qualified for
the So. Cal. Regional Championships (4th year in a row for Grossmont
as a team) and the California State Championships (2nd year in a row
for Sarah, individually).
There were many athletes who contributed to this team, the following
synopsis briefly highlights a few of their special achievements. The
first race at the Palomar Invite, Traci stepped up and had a strong
performance leading the team to a big upset of Palomar (ranked 6th
in state at the time) and Riverside (finished 6th at the State
Championships this year). Kandace Smith, Candice Dumais, Cindy Mata
and Karen Martinez all had solid races. Possibly the biggest news,
it was the first time in over a year that the talented Candice
Dumais was feeling injury-free!
The second race, Orange Coast Invite, Sarah Stuebe was showing
the possibility that she could run sub-20 and the team was
strengthened with the addition of Kristen Anderson. Now with Sarah,
Traci, Kristen, Kandace and Candice, the team had five athletes
capable of running sub 21 minutes.
The third race, So. Cal. Preview in Bakersfield, Cindy Mata had a
breakthrough, but unfortunately Candice Dumais was hit by old
injuries again. By the time Mt. SAC. arrived, the team was going
through some hard times. Sarah and Traci had good races but Kristen
had to leave school for full time work, Kandace fell during a
workout and suffered serious injuries, Candice was sick and a few
others had minor injuries.
At the Conference Championships, the few who were still capable
of running, put it together well enough to qualify for the So. Cal.
Regionals. Sarah almost broke into the 19’s, Traci also ran very
well, Cindy had her best performance, Kandace was cleared to “run
slowly” and Lisa Brown returned from a month and a half of medical
rest to run easy.
At the So. Cal. Regional Championships, most of the team ran big
P.R’s. Sarah had the performance of her life, breaking into the mid
19’s, Traci hit mid 20’s, Kandace ran all out –just missing an
individual qualifying spot to State (she needed one more week to
recover from injuries), Alyssa got into the mid 23’s, Lisa was
feeling healthy again and happy to get into So. Cal.
The big story at So. Cal. was Cindy Mata running a P.R. pace to
the three mile mark, with about 150 meters to the finish she
collapsed and could not get up until she lost her whole P.R. time
–but she finished! The State Championships were very fast this year,
Sarah Stuebe improved by 41 seconds over last year and new comer
Traci Wetzel ran an impressive mid 20. With a team filled with
athletes who ran with injuries and illness and other challenges, it
was a great season of accomplishments!
Some had to quit because of work or just raced in spite of minor
injuries and still had impressive races. As individuals their times
were not what most of them knew they could run, compared to what
they ran in workouts, but it was a solid season. The team
collectively ran: 1 -mid 19, 1 -low 20, 2 –low 21’s, 1 –mid 22, 3
–mid 23’s and a few above 23 minutes. That was a very fast and fun
year, congratulations Grossmont College cross country women!
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