The refresher course

The winged shoe that once adorned the uniforms of the Costa Mesa High boys’ cross country team was more than a logo to Chuck Lester. For him, then an impressionable freshman and running novice who thought cross country might help make him a better basketball player, the symbol became a metaphor for a foundation from which his life took flight.

Lester, who competed for three varsity seasons in the middle of legendary former Mesa coach Joe Fisher’s 1970s dynasty that included a 10-year unbeaten streak in league dual meets, is now a first-year walk-on head coach trying to give the Mustangs’ programs wings once again.

“It’s going to take time, but any dedicated coach with a vision for a great program can make it happen,” said Lester, whose sister, Diane Bjelland, has coached the Costa Mesa boys’ and girls’ track and field teams the last three seasons, and encouraged him to take the reins at his alma mater this fall. “Being a part of that program when I was 14 to 18 made such a big impact on my life, I’d love to have these kids experience what I did, running for a top program.”

Lester, 51, who said he plans to move from Anaheim to Costa Mesa soon, has built a career in land planning and urban design. He stopped running after one season at Orange Coast College, but his family remained involved in the sport over the years.

Sisters Jan Lester (Costa Mesa Class of 1973) and Diane (Class of ’74) preceded him at Costa Mesa, from which he graduated in 1975. Both sisters went on to run at UCLA and both are coaching track and field at the school.

Chuck Lester said he began coaching junior high runners at Costa Mesa three or four years ago and elected to try to provide stability to the Mustangs’ cross country programs by taking over as coach during the summer.

“This group hasn’t really had consistent coaching during their high school career,” said Chuck Lester, who has enlisted former co-coach Mike Sciacca as an assistant. “Mike is more of a track guy, so the group is very new to the concepts of distance running. They’ve got a lot to learn.”

Lester said he was eager to learn when he showed up for his first cross country workout at Mesa.

“I was a basketball player when Coach Fisher showed up at Davis Middle School to try to recruit runners for the following year,” Lester recalled. “From what I heard about running that day, I thought it might help me as a basketball player.

“I showed up that first day in blue sneakers and shorts and I saw all the other guys in Asics running shoes and green shorts with that flying-foot logo. I was in awe of what great runners they were. The Olswang twins [John and Tom] and Doug MacLean were seniors when I was a freshman. Those guys still hold the mile and two-mile records at Mesa. And Fisher’s program was way ahead of its time. No one was training twice a day, year-round back then. I changed from a basketball player to a runner.”

Lester said Fisher, who guided the Mustangs to the CIF Southern Section 3-A boys’ championship in 1976, instilled a pack mentality in his runners and inspired them to pursue lofty goals.

“It wasn’t just about running,” Lester said. “Coach Fisher taught us about desire, commitment and being the best we could be. He was so committed to us, he raised the bar hugely on our expectations in life. For me, he allowed an average runner [the fourth of fifth position on the team] to blossom. Next to my dad, he’s the most inspirational guy in my life.”

Lester said much has changed since the 1970s, when Fisher’s runners regularly logged 10 to 12 miles a day to prepare for races that were then two miles.

“We overtrained,” Lester said. “And, back then, being in the program was like being in the Marines. [Fisher] had a policy of short hair, no girlfriends, no partying and everyone had to do well in school. Now, I don’t even think I’m allowed to ask anyone to cut their hair.

“We also have something I borrowed from MacLean called Fun Fridays. We’ll jog a couple of miles then play ultimate Frisbee or a tag game. After four days of workouts, the kids look forward to that.”

Lester said Bjelland has told him the number of participants in the program is up from recent seasons, but he envisions recruiting many more athletes in order for the program to return to its former winning ways.

“You have to get them interested in running in junior high and I’d like to recruit more of the soccer players,” Lester said. “If you build it, they will come.”

BOYS

CORONA DEL MAR

Coach: Bill Sumner (26th year)

2007: Pacific Coast League champions; 14th in CIF State Division III.

Key returners: Sabastien Welch, Jr.

Key newcomers: Austin Barbin, So.; Derek Satterfield, So.; Matt Haug, Sr.; Blaine Bolous, Sr.; Jeff Jones, Sr.; Zack Ashourdian, So.; Sam Parch, So. Julien Crocket, Jr.

Outlook: Sumner usually prefers the term reloading to rebuilding, but he may not be so bold with this group, for which only Welch has substantial varsity seasoning. Welch was 10th in the junior Division III race at the season-opening Laguna Hills Invitational Saturday.

Haug wet his feet on the varsity level by competing at CIF Southern Section finals, while Bolous has had some success in track and field, Sumner said.

CdM also won league at the junior varsity level last season, so the cupboard isn’t completely bare.

Still, Sumner refuses to lower expectations.

“We want to win league and make it to the state meet.”

COSTA MESA

Coach: Chuck Lester (first year)

2007: Third in Orange Coast League

Key returners: James Stucker, Jr.; Drake Burnett, Sr.; Jason Rosello, Jr.; John Sudbeck, Sr.; Rumman Razzak, Sr.; Irvin Dorantes, Jr.; Chris Marshall, Sr.

Key newcomers: Ignacio Vera, Jr.; William Gyorgy, So.; Drake Leonard, So.; Michael Chantos, Fr.; Chad Webster, Fr.; Jesus Delgado, Fr.; Matthew Thai, Fr.; Duke Yasuda, Sr.

Outlook: Stucker finished ninth in the junior Division III race at Laguna Hills Saturday and he is joined by Burnett and Rosello to form what Lester calls a clear top three.

Lester, like his mentor and former Costa Mesa coach Joe Fisher, will attempt to have the Mustangs run as a pack, though the disparity of talent levels among the current roster have rendered that a long-term goal.

“When I was at Costa Mesa (Class of 1975), I never ran against other teams,” Lester said. “I always ran against my teammates.”

ESTANCIA

Coach: Charlie Appell (19th year)

2007: Second in Orange Coast League

Key returners: Fernando Orozco, Sr.; Wes Barloon, Sr.; Jorge Martin, Jr.; Willy Rodriguez, Sr.; Roberto Ramirez, Sr.; Ricky Saldana, Sr.

Key newcomers: Michael Divala, Jr.; Juan Geronimo, So.; Vincent Lopez, Fr.; Carlos Barrios, Fr.

Outlook: Orozco, who was third at league finals as a junior, leads four returners who finished in the league’s top 10.

Martin was fourth in league, Barloon seventh and Rodriguez was 10th.

Yet Appell believes Laguna Beach is clearly the team to beat in the Orange Coast League this season.

Orozco won the Division III senior race at Laguna Hills to help the Eagles finish fifth as a team in the senior Division III standings.

Martin was sixth in the Division III junior race at Laguna Hills.

NEWPORT HARBOR

Coach: Nowell Kay (seventh year)

2007: Sunset League Champions; Seventh in CIF State Division II

Key returners: Jake Dawson, Sr.; Michael Taylor, Sr.; Alex Jolly, So; Alex Crawford, Sr.; Saul Delarosa, Sr.; Scott Figueroa, Sr.; Eddie Garcia, Sr.; Trent Casillas, Sr.

Key newcomers: Oliverio Hernandez, So.; Danny Ingalls, Jr.; Ryan Dutch, So.

Outlook: The Sailors are ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division II and the senior-dominated squad was the top team in the senior Division II standings at Laguna Hills Saturday.

Rex Nelson (UC Irvine) and Mike Puncel (MIT) will be missed after guiding the Tars to their first state meet appearance since 1998 last season. Nelson won the league individual crown and Puncel was third at the league meet, where Dawson and Taylor were seventh and 12th, respectively.

Dawson and Taylor were 11th and 12th, respectively, in the senior race Saturday.

Kay projects Jolly to be the No. 3 runner and Crawford is expected to be a top-five contributor once he recovers from a thigh strain.

Kay expects his runners to have a target on their backs among Sunset rivals.

“Last year, in some ways, I think we kind of sneaked up on other schools in the league,” Kay said. “But after going undefeated in league and having a lot of guys back, I think making us the favorites is justified.”

SAGE HILL

Coach: Nate Miller (ninth year)

2007: Academy League champions; Eighth in CIF State Division V.

Key returners: Lion Wintemute, Jr.; Kyle Simon, Sr.; Alex Jiminez, Jr.; Slater Stanley, Fr.; David Penner, Jr.

Key newcomers: Blake Myers, Fr.; Luc Angel, So.; Kam Fujii So.; Dylan Houle, Jr.

Outlook: The Lightning, ranked No. 8 in Division V in the CIF Southern Section preseason poll, lost standouts Connor Rose and Sean McElroy to graduation and both are running at Tufts University in Boston and Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

But with the addition of Myers, who won the Division III freshman race at Laguna Hills Saturday, Miller believes the Lightning will make a strong run at defending their league crown.

“In some ways, this team may be stronger than last year’s, because there’s a smaller spread from our first runner to our last,” Miller said.

Wintemute was 31st at the state meet last season, where Simon was 106th and Jiminez 110th.

Sage was ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Division V preseason coaches poll.

GIRLS

CORONA DEL MAR

Coach: Bill Sumner (26th year)

2007: CIF Southern Section Division III and Pacific Coast League champions; fifth in CIF State Division III.

Key returners: Melanie Powers, Jr.; Laura Bilder, Sr.; Kim Condino, Sr.; Marissa Cummings, Jr.; Sarah Keddington, Jr.; Sarah Craig, So.; Claire Schmidt, Sr.; Amanda Bastien, So.; Allie Garrett, Jr.; Tina Theriot, Sr.; Christine Light, Jr.

Key newcomers: Alex Dickens, Fr.; Ashlee Powers, Fr.; Rachel Cashion, Fr.

Outlook: A No. 5 ranking in the CIF Southern Section Division III preseason poll wasn’t enough to keep Sumner from playing the “no respect” card, since, he said, the team was not ranked in the Orange County preseason top 10.

“I like our team, but it doesn’t seem like anyone else does,” Sumner said before his squad won the Junior Division III team title at Laguna Hills, led by individual winner Melanie Powers. “But Shelby [Buckley, the section Division III individual champion in 2007] and Allison [Damon, third in the section] are a lot to replace [after graduating].

“All our girls who aren’t freshmen have run on the varsity level at some point in their careers,” Sumner said. “I think I have three our four strong freshmen, but they’re like Antelopes out in the prairie who don’t know what the heck they’re doing yet.”

CdM is seeking a fifth straight section Division III crown.

COSTA MESA

Coach: Chuck Lester (first year)

2007: Third in Orange Coast League

Key returners: Melissa Townsend, So.; Cheyenne Lopez, Sr.;

Key newcomers: Hunter Strodel, So.; Raquel Friedmann, Fr.; Kaitlin Yamamoto, Jr.; Kelsi Bauermeister, Sr.; Bao Nguyen-Truong, Jr.; Chloe Brown, Fr.; Maria Munoz, Fr.

Outlook: Strodel is new to cross country after faring well in the 3,200 meters for the track team last spring. Lester said she is expected to be the top runner, with Friedmann and Yamamoto rounding out the projected top three.

Yamamoto had the best time Saturday at Laguna Hills, Lester said.

With Godinez of Santa Ana debuting on the varsity level to make it five schools in the Orange Coast League this season, the Mustangs could face an uphill battle to rise above the midway point of the league standings.

ESTANCIA

Coach: Charlie Appell (19th year)

2007: Second in Orange Coast League

Key returners: Sindy Ramirez, Sr.; Alexa Aguilar, Sr.; Brianna Valencia, Sr.; Alejandra Peralta, Jr.; Cori Chapin, Sr.; Jenny Leon, Sr.

Key newcomers: Mariah Chapin, Fr.; Erika Garcia, Fr.; Melissa Correa, Fr.; Heather Flores, Fr.; Blanca Morales, Sr.; Jackie Morales, Sr.

Outlook: Ramirez finished 10th at league finals last season and Valencia was 15th at the same meet. But Catherine Fuentes, who was 14th in league as a junior last season has not returned, Appell said.

Appell said little has been settled in terms of a lineup. He believes Aguilar and Ramirez will fit into the top three, but everything else has yet to be determined.

Garcia and Mariah Chapin were fourth and eighth, respectively, in the Division III freshman race at Laguna Hills, where Aguilar finished 12th in the Division III senior race.

Garcia had the top time of the day among Eagles (19:16).

NEWPORT HARBOR

Coach: Eric Tweit (19th year)

2007: CIF State and CIF Southern Section Division II champions; third in Sunset League.

Key returners: Erica Pearson, Sr.; Desiree Alexander, Sr.; Tori Sarris, So.; Ava Nelson, Jr.; Patti Moddelmog, Jr.; Stephanie Hayes, Sr;

Key newcomers: Jordan Murrel, So.; Molly Anderson, Fr.; Lauren Clemence, Fr.; Camille Jolly, Fr.; Kasey DeYoung, Jr; Mackenna Zorn, Jr.; Emily Wilson, Jr.

Outlook: Tweit said his top four are as good or better than last year’s highly successful squad, but finding a fifth could determine whether to Sailors, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division II and No. 11 in the state by Dyestat.com, are able to accomplish their lofty goals

Alexander (17:33) and Pearson (17:48) finished first and second, respectively, in the Division II senior race at Laguna Hills and Tweit said Pearson may turn out to be among the best the program has ever produced.

With Alexander contributing since her freshman season, Newport has won two section titles, one state crown and been state runner-up in its division the other two years.

Sarris fifth in the Division II sophomore race Saturday, and Nelson was ninth in the division’s junior race.

The bid to defend the state crown became more difficult when Saugus, last year’s state Division I champion, was dropped to Division II.

SAGE HILL

Coach: Nate Miller (ninth year)

2007: Sixth in CIF Southern Section Division V; 12th in CIF State Division V.

Key returners: Cait Williamson, Sr.; Jackie Dion, Jr.; Megan Culberson, Jr.

Key newcomers: Caroline Grant, Fr.; Laura Goetz, Jr.; Leah Sams, Jr.; Lena Xiao, Sr.

Outlook: Williamson won the CIF Southern Section Division V individual title last fall and qualified for the section finals in the 1,600 last spring. Williamson was third in the Division III senior race at Laguna Hills. Miller said she was among the top five heading into last year’s section cross country finals and put together a terrific race to top the field.

With only three returners — Dion was 31st at the Division V section finals, where Simon finished 50th — Miller said the newcomers must step up if the Lightning are to challenge St. Margaret’s for the Academy crown.

“Overall, it’s a great group and they’ve bonded really well early on,” Miller said.

The Bolts were ranked No. 3 in the section coaches’ Division V preseason poll.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.