Craig Dunn – Head Coach & Boys’ Distance Coach (949-395-1351)
Coach Dunn has coached Track and Field at DHHS for 20 years. He was the Boys’ Head Coach for 10 years (’07-’16), and is now back again for 2020. During his tenure, Coach Dunn has won 6 South Coast League Titles and was named Orange County Track and Field “Coach of the Year” two years in a row (’08 & ’09). He is the only coach in County history to have won 4 consecutive Orange County Championships (’08-’11). In 2010 his team placed 5th at Nike Track Nationals and 10th in 2011! He led his team to a Div1 CIF title in 2009, which was the first ever in the Capistrano Unified School District!
Coach Dunn is the Boys’ Head Cross Country Coach during the Fall. He has helped lead the team to 18 South Coast League Titles, 11 Orange County Titles, 16 podium finishes at State, and 9 National appearances. Coach Dunn was name the Orange County Cross Country “Coach of the Year” in ’17 and ‘19.
Coach Dunn is an Alumni of DHHS; he ran for Coach Butler in the early 1990’s. Coach Dunn teaches College & Career Prep, Academic Intervention, and Physical Education at Dana Hills. Coach Dunn has two children, Cody and Riley, and is married Julie Dunn.
Ryan Crane – Head Coach Hurdles (949-280-9253)
Ryan competed on the DHHS track team for four years. He held the 400 meter record of 48.42 for 12 years until it was broken in 2006 by Cade Lindahl, an athlete that Coach Crane was fortunate enough to have coached.
Coach Crane ran for Saddleback College, but was forced out of competition due to injuries. Today, he uses his knowledge and experience to help others find success, both on the track and off. Coach Crane has coached track at DHHS for 20 years, girls cross country for 15, and boys cross country for 2.
Coach Crane was the boys’ head coach at DHHS from ‘06 and was the girls’ head coach from ’07-’17, and is now back for 2020. Coach Crane has been a vital part of the success of the program, most significantly in the hurdles, an event he has been coaching since 2000. Coach Crane was named the Orange County Track and Field “Coach of the Year” in ‘09 and in ‘12!
Jim Copp – Throws (949-279-0749)
Jim has been coaching for over 40 years, including 12 years at Upland High School in Wrestling and Baseball, and 18 years of coaching his daughters in Club Softball and Soccer. He has also has been an intrigue part of the Dana Hills Cross Country team for the past 21 years. This is his 14th year with the Dana Hills Track and Field Program. Coach Copp has worked with both the distance and throws groups.
Nic Smith – Girl’s Distance
Coach Smith enters his second spring at the helm of the girls’ distance squad, fresh off a successful fall cross country campaign that finished with an 8th place team finish in the very tough Southern Section Division 2 and saw freshman Allura Markow finish 8th as an individual in the state. With a solid group of hard working ladies he is looking to build off the momentum from the fall and have a fast, fun spring.
Coach Smith has been coaching at Dana since 2015, first as an assistant to the boys cross country team, and since 2018 as the girls’ head cross country coach. He also coached boys’ volleyball for one season under the late, legendary Oz Simmons. An alumnus of Dana, Coach Smith ran cross country under Tim Butler and Craig Dunn, and is proud to be a part of the Dana Hills Distance family.
In addition to coaching, he teaches mathematics and computer science at Dana. He is married to his beautiful wife Julie, a fellow Dolphin alum.
Ken Nedler – Jumps
Ken Nedler began coaching track and field in 1978 at Columbus Tustin JHS. From there he quickly moved to Foothill HS where for five years he coached the high, long and triple jumps. Ken found a great deal of success at Foothill, coaching Orange County’s first two 7’0” high jumpers. He also had numerous triple jumpers qualify for CIF. After college life at CSU Fullerton, where he earned his BS degree in Physical Education, Ken moved to Santa Barbara and coached for a number of years at San Marcos HS. After 20 years in Santa Barbara, Ken married Gail and moved down to Orange County again, landing at Aliso Niguel HS for 6 years. Ken is proud to boast that he had a running streak of 17 consecutive years of having at least one of his jump team members lead their respective county in an event. In his 21 year, he has had a county leader in 19 of those years. He is equally proud to have been mentored by former American record-holders Dwight Stones and Willie Banks.
Scott Kelly – Throws
Mark Torrianni – Pole Vault
Dom Dombrowlski – Pole Vault
Sandy Mesa – Girls Distance
