Lonnie Davis, who has led the Golden Valley track and field team for the past seven years and into title town, announced his departure from the program on Tuesday as the CIF champion coach now heads to Cathedral.
He helped build one of the strongest track and field programs in the state and was grateful for everything at Golden Valley, where he’ll remain on staff.
“I was spoiled to have such a great group of dedicated coaches surrounding me,” said Davis. “I appreciate the heck out of them. I’m also grateful for the opportunity that my principal Mr. (Sal) Frias and Mr. (Robert) Fisher [former Golden Valley athletic director] gave me when they hired me in 2016.”
Golden Valley built a chokehold on the Foothill League under Davis. The Grizzly girls won three straight league titles while the boys won their second consecutive this past season.
The team featured 16 individual league champions in 2022, winning half of the meet’s events. The majority of those athletes shared their appreciation and congratulated Davis over the past few days.
“I’m thankful for all of the current and former athletes, families, friends and colleagues that have reached out to me over the past few days,” said Davis. “We’ll always have the memories and I will always consider you family.”
The head coach went on to lead the team to win individual CIF championships this past year with five returning for the 2023 season.
Davis will bring a ton of experience to a great program at Cathedral but will remain on Golden Valley’s campus during the day as an instructional assistant.
Golden Valley is yet to announce a new track and field head coach with the season still months away. The varsity team is filled with CIF champions ready to defend their titles as well as new players ready to extend the Grizzly dominance.
