Valley Christian High School has announced the hiring of alumnus David Mehlhorn as the new head track & field coach for the upcoming year.

Mehlhorn takes over the coaching reigns from hall of fame coach Dan Kuiper, who stepped down as head coach to become the school’s principal for 2014-15.

“I am very excited to be taking on this role at Valley Christian and am humbled to be following in the footsteps of Coach Kuiper.  Valley is a very unique and special community and I look forward to working with our student-athletes in track and in basketball.  We will honor Christ and pursue excellence in all we do, whether that be on the track, on the court, in the classroom or in the community.”

Graduating from Valley Christian in 2004, Mehlhorn was a three-sport athlete, starring in cross country, basketball and track and field for the Trojans. He was a key member of four track & field state championship teams, a state championship cross country team and a state championship basketball team in his high school career.  His senior year, he was named the 4A-2A Cross Country Runner of the Year by the Arizona Republic and was named Track Athlete of the Year by the East Valley Tribune. In college, Mehlhorn ran cross country and track and field at Arizona State University while earning his degree in accounting. He earned All-Pac-10 Academic team honors four times.

Legendary track & field coach and current Valley Christian Principal Dan Kuiper stated, “as an athlete, David was one of the most dedicated there was.  He knew the extra work it would take to be a champion, and consistently carried through with it.  I can still remember as his coach, he had a burning desire to put the first state championship banner on the wall for cross country.  He coined the phrase “banner pain”.   This became the mantra for the team that year and it led to the school’s first state championship in cross country.  All this dedication and persistence has carried over into David’s personal life as well.  He demonstrates this dedication with his walk with the Lord, his family, and work.  VCHS is so blessed to have him as part of our community.”

In addition to leading the track and field program, Mehlhorn will join the boys basketball coaching staff as the head JV coach.  Prior to moving to San Diego, California in 2012, he held the same basketball coaching position at Corona del Sol High School for three years.

“When we learned of Dan’s intentions to step down as head coach, David was our first choice to replace him,” Valley Christian Athletic Director Greg Haagsma commented.  “He is an incredibly gifted and driven athlete and coach.  We are confident he will continue to take our program to new levels of excellence while developing champion student-athletes on and off the track.”

The Valley Christian track & field program is among the most successful high school program in Arizona, having won a combined 29 boys and girls state championships.  Numerous track & field alumni have gone on to compete in college, including one member of Team USA.