By Lily Gosney
Welcoming Justin Hunter as the 2026 Dana Hills Track and Field Head Coach, he is determined and dedicated to building a culture of success on and off the track. As a previous track sprinter and Dana Hills alumni, he hopes to return the track team back into a championship program by training his athletes and fostering teamwork. Graduating in the class of 2014, Hunter attended the University of California, San Diego where he also ran track. After a couple years out of college, he was inspired to pursue coaching as a job and reconnected with his previous coach, Craig Dunn, which Hunter called it a “full circle moment”. His goals this season specifically are to compete with the “top contenders in our league, Beckman [High school] and San Clemente [High school]” as well as trying to “place in the top 2 of our league”. Overall, with limited varsity members, Hunter is excited to work with a “team that is building toward something, and as a new coach [he] wants to build the team from the ground up” and understands that “culture isn’t built up in one season, it is built up over time”. As head coach, he is motivated to branch out from his specialty, sprints, and learn more about the other events that Track and Field has to offer such as jumps and throws. All in all, Dana Hills is proud and excited to welcome coach Hunter where he as well states that “[hes] always been a proud dolphin, and it’s been a blast being back here at Dana again”.