Gila Ridge gets new track, cross country coaches

Two new coaches will be taking the reins at Gila Ridge next year.

Laurel Jordan has been hired as the new cross country coach for the Hawks while Lucas Wolthuis was named the new track and field coach.

Jordan previously coached girls soccer at Gila Ridge, and athletic director Derek Bosch said he was confident her experience will pay off for the Hawks.

“She is an avid runner herself and I just feel like she’s very capable of training our cross country kids and getting them to buy into the program,” he said.

For Wolthuis this will be his first coaching job but he has experience from running three years of track and four years of cross country in college. He will lead a back-to-back region champion girls team as well as boys team that has also become highly competitive.

“Lucas knows all of that and he knows that the expectations are set pretty high for him and he definitely wants to step up to the challenge,” Bosch said.