Live Oak High track and cross-country coach Dean Raymond has
brought a little of his family
’s proud legacy of competitive running to the local school in
more ways than one.
Live Oak High track and cross-country coach Dean Raymond has brought a little of his family’s proud legacy of competitive running to the local school in more ways than one.
Of course, Raymond himself has devoted plenty of time and effort to coaching the Acorn running programs over the years.
Now, Raymond is tapping his family’s foundation as sponsor of the inaugural Raymond Relays, set for this weekend at the new all-weather track at Live Oak.
According to Raymond, the event is named in honor of his father, Doc Raymond, who passed away in 1999 and left an inheritance that helped start the Raymond Family Foundation. The foundation has helped support Live Oak’s running programs for the past three years and will now help the track program help itself by raising money.
“My father supported our family in whatever we did and I just wanted to honor him,” Raymond said.
Raymond comes from a family of runners. His grandfather was a sprinter, his father was a hurdler and Dean was a distance runner when they competed.
Now a little of that influence will express itself in the new event.
The Raymond Relays will include eight teams in its first year, including Live Oak, Oak Grove, Leland, Evergreen Valley, Mitty, Independence, Alisal and Eastside College Prep.
Raymond said he wanted to keep the event relatively small in its first year so organizers don’t get overwhelmed. he said he hopes to see it grow in the next few years.
The event will include boys and girls varsity and frosh-soph, as well as co-ed, competitions in a variety of relays from shuttle hurdles and the 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 to the distance medley and the sprint medley, and more.
The event will also include a three-person “relay” competition in the long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put and discus.
Competition gets underwayt at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
