John Esquibel begins his 17th season as the head coach for both the Regis men's and women's cross country teams in 2022-23. He brings plenty of experience in terms of coaching and as a former student-athlete himself.
In 2021-22, the Regis women's cross country team finished 25th overall and the men 27th overall, respectively, at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional. Junior Mikaela Taylor earned First Team All-Academic honors through the RMAC. The 2021-22 men's cross country team earned the RMAC Brechler Award with the highest team GPA (3.634) in the conference.
The 2020-21 season was canceled due to COVID-19. Four student-athletes were named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll including: Annika Zenk, My Yen Nguyen from the women's side, and Bryan Martinez and Andrew McNamee from the men's side.
In 2019-20, the men's team finished 5th at the Adams State University - Joe I. Vigil Invitational and eventually finished 26th at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championships. On the women's side, their best finish was a 3rd place finish at the Adams State University - Joe I. Vigil Invitational, and they placed 28th at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championships.
Esquibel's team earned five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic Honor Roll recipients on the women's side (Samantha Holland, Anna McAtee, Sarah Smagacz, Jennifer VanEtten and Theodora Zastrocky) and one on the men's side (Emilio Tovilla) during the 2018-19 season.
Both the men and women each scored a third-place team showing at the FHSU Tigers Open on Oct. 13, their highest showings of the season.
Esquibel has coached two All-RMAC performers in Lauren Policky-Baldauf and Caitlin O'Brien. Policky-Baldauf was a two-time All-RMAC performer and also earned the first two RMAC Summit Awards, which go to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the RMAC Championship site. She was also a two-time Capital One Academic All-District selection.
The 2010 season was the finest in the history of the women's program. The women were ranked as high as sixth in the USTFCCCA Central Region Top 10 poll and finished third at the RMAC Championships and sixth at the NCAA Central Region Meet. Both finishes were the best finishes of any Regis women's cross country team.
The women's team continued its upward swing in 2011, again being ranked in the region. They finished fifth at the RMAC meet and sixth at the NCAA Central Region Meet.
While coaching at Regis, Esquibel continues his teaching duties in which he has been involved with since 1992. He has been working at Baker Elementary in Denver. During that time, he has also been serving as the head coach of the Ranum High School cross country team. Esquibel was selected for inclusion in the seventh edition of the "Who's Who Among America's Teachers, 2002".
Esquibel has been coaching at the high school level since 1989. He began his coaching career at Cherry Creek High School where he worked until 2000 before moving on to Ranum. While at Cherry Creek, he served as an assistant coach for the track and field team. In 1993, he was the head coach of the Westminster High School cross country team, serving as its head coach through the 1996 season.
Esquibel additionally had a successful collegiate career while attending Adams State College during the school’s NAIA days. He is a seven-time All-American, two in cross-country and three in track and field. He also won three indoor National Championships in the mile run and was a record holder for two years. Esquibel also won four National Championships during his career at Adams State College. He was selected as a first and second alternate for two World Cross Country Teams. Throughout his running career, he has traveled to 17 different countries. In 2005, he was inducted into the Adams State College Hall of Fame.
He is a 1983 graduate of Adams State where he earned a bachelor’s degree in arts and is certified in K-12.
