Bio

Mark Unzueta has been the head cross country coach at WHCL since 2008.  Both the Golden Eagle women and men have finished as high as 2^nd place in the Central Valley Conference Championships on multiple occasions.  The Lady Eagles qualified for, and participated in the CCCAA State Championships in 2012, the only time in school history this feat has been accomplished.  The 2015 edition of West Hills cross country looks to be the strongest yet for both teams. 

While attending Lemoore High School, Mark excelled in track and field and cross country, under the tutelage of his coach and father Steve Unzueta.  Mark qualified for the CA State Championships in the pole vault all four years under the guidance of his dad, and was the CA State Champ his senior year in 1998.  Mark was also a standout cross country runner adding to the rich tradition of powerful LHS teams of the 80’s and 90’s. 

                Mark went on to compete on the Track and Field team at Fresno State from 1999-2003 earning team captain honors and winning the WAC Championships twice in the pole vault in 2000-2001.  He was also a NCAA Championships qualifier in the vault in 2001.  Unzueta narrowly missed the Olympic Trials qualifying standard of 5.50m in the pole vault in 2004 as he competed at the elite level for 4 years after graduating from Fresno State.  In 2007 Mark completed his MA degree in Kinesiology and made the transition from athlete to coach.