Chris Ramirez
-
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Bio
Chris Ramirez, a former collegiate runner at both UCLA and Azusa Pacific, enters his second season as an assistant coach with the CMS cross country and track and field programs in 2022-23.
In his first season in 2021, he helped lead the CMS women's and men's cross country teams to top-10 finishes at nationals. In fact, the Athenas finished in second place, just two points out of first, for the highest-ever finish in program history, while the Stags came in sixth. The distance runners included six All-Americans, four Athenas (Meredith Bloss, Natalie Bitetti, Riley Harmon and Emily Clarke) and two Stags (Henry Pick and Stevie Steinberg), while Pick's third-place finish featured the fastest time in CMS history by over 40 seconds.
During track season, he coached Meredith Bloss (indoors), Henry Pick and Emily Clarke to All-America honors. The Stags set school records in the steeplechase (Adam Wilkinson), the 1500 (Daniel Sealand), the 5000 (Stevie Steinberg) and the 10000 (Stevie Steinberg), while Bloss added a CMS record in the 10000 for the Athenas.
Ramirez also serves as the head coach for the cross country program (and assistant for track and field) up the road at Claremont High School, where he has served since 2019. He also has previous collegiate coaching experience, after spending three years as an assistant coach at Cedarville University from 2004-06, where he was part of a two-time NCCAA Coaching Staff of the Year in track and field.
In between his coaching jobs, his career took him to Disney, where he served as a guest talent coordinator at Disneyland and as a production coordinator/talent casting coordinator for Walt Disney Imagineering. He has also intermittently been a singer and performer at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan from 2002-2015.
Ramirez finished his collegiate career at Azusa Pacific, where he was a part of the 2001 NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field national championship team. He was a 2001 NAIA All-American in cross country, finishing 16th at the national championships, and also qualified for nationals in the 5000 meters during track and field season on multiple occasions.
During his first year of collegiate competition, Ramirez broke four minutes with a 3:57 in the 1500 at UCLA, before transferring to Azusa Pacific. In high school, he was a CIF state qualifier and earned a Marmonte League Championship.
Ramirez is part of an athletic family, as his two brothers (Tim, Tony) and his sister (Laurie) all ran track at Azusa Pacific, setting multiple APU and NAIA records and garnering a few dozen All-America honors between them.
Ramirez graduated from Azusa Pacific with a bachelor's degree in biblical studies. He was also a member of the university choir and orchestra, chamber singers, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and served with Missions Outreach in Mexico.
Ramirez also serves as the head coach for the cross country program (and assistant for track and field) up the road at Claremont High School, where he has served since 2019. He also has previous collegiate coaching experience, after spending three years as an assistant coach at Cedarville University from 2004-06, where he was part of a two-time NCCAA Coaching Staff of the Year in track and field.
In between his coaching jobs, his career took him to Disney, where he served as a guest talent coordinator at Disneyland and as a production coordinator/talent casting coordinator for Walt Disney Imagineering. He has also intermittently been a singer and performer at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan from 2002-2015.
Ramirez finished his collegiate career at Azusa Pacific, where he was a part of the 2001 NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field national championship team. He was a 2001 NAIA All-American in cross country, finishing 16th at the national championships, and also qualified for nationals in the 5000 meters during track and field season on multiple occasions.
During his first year of collegiate competition, Ramirez broke four minutes with a 3:57 in the 1500 at UCLA, before transferring to Azusa Pacific. In high school, he was a CIF state qualifier and earned a Marmonte League Championship.
Ramirez is part of an athletic family, as his two brothers (Tim, Tony) and his sister (Laurie) all ran track at Azusa Pacific, setting multiple APU and NAIA records and garnering a few dozen All-America honors between them.
Ramirez graduated from Azusa Pacific with a bachelor's degree in biblical studies. He was also a member of the university choir and orchestra, chamber singers, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and served with Missions Outreach in Mexico.