By Ed Piper
La Jolla track fans are going to be treated to something new this spring: The annual Viking Relays will now take place March 8 in the afternoon and under the lights, "to take advantage of the beautiful sunsets", according to new boys' head coach Ben Martin.
"Our planning committee got PJ's (pajamas). We'll have food trucks and make it a fun event," said Martin, last year's sprints coach, now elevated to the top spot after Paul Byrne's faithful head-coaching since 2015. The event will commence at 1 p.m. for field events, 2 p.m. for track events.
In an interview, Martin spotlighted sprinter Olivia Smith, a senior wanting to run in college; Leed Smoole, who leads a pack of football players seeking to establish sprint times for college recruiters; distance prep All-American Chiara Dailey; Hannah Aalaei; and Zoe Dunfee, mile/3200-meter, among others.
Ben coached the freshman football team, so he has been talking with Viking head football coach Tyler Roach regarding having some football players who desire to work on their running.
Martin, himself, has an interesting background. After running and playing football at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, he entered the Air Force and became an agent with the Office of Special Investigations. His specialty was anti-terrorism.
He served four tours in Iraq, and trained hundreds of U.S. and partner-nation soldiers in combat self-defense.
Now a coach, Ben has become a trainer in sprint, agility, strength, and conditioning for high school and NCAA Division 1 athletes.
The staff for track and field is adding Donte and Kris Nall, a husband-and-wife team who both went to the Olympic Trials. Donte Nall was a jumper for the University of North Carolina, the ACC champ, and jumped professionally.
Kris Nall, the new girls' head coach, ran at UCLA and professionally in Europe.
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