Our Mission
Our Members
We are all alumni of the Newark Memorial Cross Country team. Most of us were in the best shape of our lives during the time we spent there. Some of us got into even better running shape after high school (the crazy ones.) Some of us participated in intercollegiate athletics. Some of us are moth types. Some of us lean towards the non-linear. We all enjoy each other's company.
Membership Requirements
Becoming a member has a few simple requirements:
Advantages of Membership
In the fall of 2008, it became apparent that with several senior alumni graduating from college and entering the workforce, the responsibilities of managing the inner workings of CXC4L would have to be shared, especially with newer alumni, in order to continue CXC4L and carry out its mission.
Beforehand, alumnus Filip Nowak (c/o 2004) did essentially all of the group's organizing and managing, and he is chiefly responsible for seeing this group come to fruition. In an effort to share the responsibilities, he put out a request to the alumni for help with these tasks. Five alumni, several of whom already dedicated much time to organizing and executing past Alumni Meets, were eager to help manage the group. Together, Nowak and fellow CXC4L members Danny Wecks (c/o 2004), Chris Chandler (c/o 2005), Travis Turner (c/o 2005), Benjamin Iremonger (c/o 2006), and Brian Mendonca (c/o 2008) formed the group's first Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors currently constitutes an eight member board whose responsibilities include managing and hosting the annual Alumni Meet Weekend, maintaining the CXC4L website and e-mail account, reviewing and approving new members, acting as liaisons to the current NMHS cross country team and coaches, managing and hosting the annual Newark Mile and acting as liaisons to the Newark Days Committee, and generally helping out both CXC4L and the current NMHS team in any capacity they are capable of.
The eight members of the CXC4L Board of Directors are:
Filip Nowak was a captain of the Newark Memorial Cross Country Team during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons. He graduated from De Anza College in 2006 where he was a member of their Intercollegiate Swimming and Water Polo Teams and from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in 2008 where he was a member of the Intercollegiate Ultimate Frisbee Team. Currently, he is a CPA working in technical accounting and an alum of PricewaterhouseCoopers. He also serves as the Co-Chairman of the Newark Mile 4k, on the Board of Newark Days Celebration Inc, as a chapter Board member of the Berkeley Haas Alumni Network, and as the Chairman of the Audit Committee of Catholic Charities of the East Bay. He is married with 3 sons that he enjoys spending time with.
Katie Blalock ran Cross Country at Newark Memorial for 2 years, winning the MVAL Championship and qualifying for the State Championship her senior year (pats back). Her love of running has continued into adulthood. She has completed 1 full marathon and completes an average of 1 half marathon each year. The thing she loves most about running, other than the mental and physical benefits, is the unique bond that is created when suffering . . . I mean . . . running with others, as well as the accomplishment felt when setting and achieving goals. She would love to coach Cross Country or Track and Field in the future. Katie is married with 3 kids and works part time as an Outpatient Physical Therapist. She is very involved in her church and loves reading, coffee, ice cream and Disneyland.
Chris Chandler was a captain of NMHS Cross Country during the 2004-2005 season. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2009 and 2010, respectively, from UC Berkeley. He currently works as a construction project manager for Gilbane Building Company. He serves on the Board of Directors for Newark Days Celebration, Inc., where he co-chairs the Newark Mile 4k. Chris is still an avid runner as well as an avid guitarist, Irish céilí and set dancer, and traveler. He and his wife reside happily in the East Bay, and often spend evenings together running along the San Francisco Bay Trail.
Nick Chandler enjoyed two fantastic years with Newark Memorial Cross Country as well as four years on their Track team as a hurdler. He still enjoys running long distance and jumping over random objects when he's not working as a Project Engineer for the civil engineering firm Sandis. He graduated in 2012 from UC Davis with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Aside from running and hurdling static objects, he frequently plays ultimate frisbee and goes on long trips throughout the Bay Area on his motorcycle.
Tyler Jorgens was the MVP of the Newark Memorial XC team for the 2009-2010 campaign. He was named the 2010 NM Scholar Athlete of the Year and earned a White Sweater award. Tyler graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2014 with a degree in Pure Mathematics and a minor in Statistics and has worked as a math teacher at Newark Memorial High School ever since. Coach Jorgens currently serves as the head coach for both the cross country and track programs at Newark Memorial. He enjoys going to work every day with an amazing community of young Newark runners.
Anelli Baron ran for Newark Memorial XC for all 4 years of high school. She played for the basketball team for 2 years and hurdled for the track and field team for 4 years. After graduating in 2013, Anelli had the honor of being the assistant coach for both NMHS XC and track and field team for few years. She earned her B.S. in Health Sciences from CSU East Bay and later, B.S. in Nursing from Azusa Pacific University. Anelli has ran multiple half-marathons and full marathons, including the Boston Marathon. You can always count on her running somewhere out there in her white cap and sunglasses. Be careful and take good care of yourself, otherwise Anelli might end up taking care of you as a registered nurse!
Scott Jorgens was a four year member of the cross country team, graduating in 2013. After high school, he graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with an Aerospace Engineering degree. After finishing college, Scott returned home to Newark where he had the opportunity to return as a teacher and a coach. He currently teaches 8th grade math at Newark Junior High and has been an assistant coach for the cross country team since 2017, as well as the head JV girls basketball coach and head JV baseball coach. When he is not teaching or coaching, Scott loves to golf and watch sports on TV.
Stephanie Roa ran 4 years for the NMHS CXC and Track and Field teams and was named team captain her senior year. She completed her BS in Biochemistry at Sonoma State University c/o 2019. Currently, she is a lab technician at the Buck Institute for Research in Aging studying the ketogenic diet. Stephanie aspires to be a lifelong runner and hiking enthusiast!
Since 2010, CXC4L has been the community group coordinator for the Newark Mile 4k, a staple of the Newark Days Celebration since 1985. To learn more about the Newark Mile and to register for the race, check us out at newarkmile.org.
CXC4L alumni can find photos of past alumni events, historical alumni meet results, member entry essays, and more at the Members Only area of the website.