Triumphant Farewell For Departing Coaches At Great Oak


Doug Soles, who along with assistant Dan Noble, turned the Great Oak distance program into one of the nation's elite while accounting for 15 CIF-Southern Section titles, 14 CIF-State titles, and one Team National title, coached their final event on Thursday. (File photo)

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Since it opened its doors in 2004, Doug Soles has been the choreographer of Great Oak High School's cross country and track & field programs.  Having also started up the programs at Desert Hot Springs after moving south from Oregon, Soles had his sights on much larger goals at Temecula's newest high school. It did not take too long to see the success on hand as the girls team qualified out of Division 4 for the CIF-State Meet in the program's inaugural season!  

By 2008, the girls team began a string of 12 consecutive State Meet appearances highlighted by an unprecedented string of seven consecutive Division I state titles (2012-2018) to go along with the school's first in 2010.  The girls have earned eight consecutive CIF-Southern Section Divisional 1 titles from 2012-2019, adding to their initial titles in 2009-2010.   

Meanwhile, the boys, tired of taking a backseat in the headlines, started their own string of unseen success by first qualifying for the State Meet in 2010. The 2014 season began a string of six straight titles (never achieved at any level at the California State Championships) that ran up until the 2019 season. This resume also included five CIF-SS Divisional championships.  

Combined, no cross country program has experienced more success in California State history than Great Oak!  Some of the local purists of the prep scene have shared that they have been more impressed with the program's overall depth than its top-tiered success. When asked to compare to the very best in decades past, they simply cannot even think of an example in regard to overall depth. 

Soles has been at the helm, guiding the program all along. Joining forces as an assistant in those early days was fellow teacher, Dan Noble. Both hung up their Great Oak gear for good this past week with the conclusion of the abbreviated cross country season.  

Soles, 45, announced his decision to step away in early February citing frustration with a rash of social media posts, including one that included photos of his family, as well as a complaint by a former part-time assistant coach, and another by a parent group citing discrimination, both that were being handled at the district level, rather than at Great Oak High School. Noble, a teacher in the district for 20 years, the last 17 at Great Oak, said he, too, would step away citing frustration with how Soles was treated. 

It was confirmed this week that Great Oak graduate Isaac Cortes would take over the program. Cortes is one of the greatest distance runners in the program's history, having won the 800-meter and 1600-meter title at the 2016 CIF-State Championships, just the second boy in state history to win both events at the same championships. Cortes, who earned all-America and all-academic accolades at Stanford University, also helped the Wolfpack boys win the 2015 Team National title. 

In other words, a legend replacing a legendary duo.

Cortes will assume a deep and young program, but one that loses its top two runners to graduation. Those two, Brianna Weidler and Austin Montez, a duo who used Thursday's season finale at Galway Downs east of Temecula to show that they were not only the best at Great Oak, but the best in the Southwestern League.

The SWL has been among the leagues in the Southern Section successfully conducting meets over the last month. While the headlines understandably focused on the historic and somber changes to Great Oak's coaching staff, the athletes were truly the ones that stole the attention! 

One of the eye-popping stats we continually see from Great Oak was not just the program's success at the highest levels but perhaps even more impressive was the year-by-year depth that has never been matched by any other high school program in the United States!

Despite a year where students lost their entire regular cross country season in 2020, along with many seniors placing their efforts elsewhere -- that depth was on full display in the junior varsity races.  Great Oak claimed the top 10 spots in the JV race, led by freshman Devlyn Torza. Torza's 19:01.5 would have placed in the top 14 in the varsity race while Great Oak's top seven were all freshmen or sophomores. 

Moving to the boys junior varsity affair, senior Kyle Reden brought home the victory (15:33.2) just ahead of teammates -- freshman, Gabriel Rodriguez (15:36.1) and sophomore Ramses Cortes (15:41.6). The Wolfpack earned 11 of the top 13 spots with seven being freshmen or sophomores.  

Weidler, a senior bound for UC Davis, blazed the layout in 17:35.1 to complete an undefeated season and unchallenged Southwestern League title. Great Oak lost her services during the postseason of 2019, somewhat bittersweet that she was able to make the most of the 'lost' 2020 season. 

But, Weidler (pictured) had to hold off one of the most improved girls in the section in her teammate sophomore Ameya Teli. Down on the depth charts in 2019 as a freshman, Teli traversed this same flat, quick course at Galway Downs in 19:21.  Here, she improved by 80 seconds in her runner-up 17:41.3 performance.  

Murrieta Valley, one of the most improved squads in Riverside County was led by freshman Isabel Rosales.  Her third-place finish (17:42.6) finished just ahead of sophomore Aishling Fabian of Great Oak. 

Great Oak captured seven of the top nine spots for 20 points, safely in front of runner-up Vista Murrieta's 54.  Murrieta Valley placed third with 83 while Temecula Valley placed fourth with 105 points.   

Finishing up the afternoon with the boys varsity race, Great Oak Austin Montez completed his undefeated winter with the narrow victory over Chaparral's Jacob Bustamante, 14:48.3-14:49.6.  But it was Great Oak sophomore David Kankowski who ran his best race of the season in claiming third place in 14:50.3.  Junior Cameron Smith of Great Oak was fourth in 14:53.4, just ahead of Vista Murrieta junior Lance Denhalter (14:59.00).

Great Oak's boys earned the league title with 24 points, with a tough Vista Murrieta squad earning 44 points. Other top finishers for Vista Murrieta, State Meet qualifiers in 2019, were seniors Noah Murasmith (15:04.7) in sixth and Gabe Jasperson (15:12.1) in eighth place.

Murrieta Valley's boys placed third with 82 points with the Bustamante-led crew of Chaparral finishing fourth with 108 points.

We commend the Southwestern League programs and administrations for taking the lead in the Southern Section in making a cross country season for the kids during these times.

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Inserted photos by Scott Padgett, Kirby Lee/Image of Sport, Jeffrey Parenti.

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Mark Gardner is a regular contributor to MileSplit and serves as the Southern Section editor.

MileSplitCA editor Jeffrey Parenti contributed to this report.