St. Francis Catholic High School is proud to announce Melanie Cleland as the new Head Coach for Cross Country and Track & Field.  Coach Cleland's commitment to creating a healthy environment for her athletes where they can train, compete, and grow as athletes and women, along with her expertise in these sports led to the committee's enthusiastic recommendation for her to lead the Troubadours.

In accepting these positions, Cleland commented, "I am extremely excited to be part of the St. Francis cross country/track and field program.  I'm looking forward to building relationships with the athletes and coaching staff, and together achieving great things."

Cleland is a three-time Sacramento Running Association Girls High School Coach-of-the-Year.  She was also named 2014 NorCal Cross Country Express Coach-of-the-Year while head cross country coach at Bella Vista High School.  Cleland also served as the distance coach during the track & field season.  In her seven years leading the Broncos, they earned seven consecutive league championships and four consecutive section championships, qualifying for the state championships every year between 2011 and 2015 and reaching the podium as the state runners-up in 2014 and 2015.

Coach Cleland ran and coached professionally with the Adidas Transports Running Team/East Bay Striders (1998-2002). She was the assistant coach at San Mateo College (1996-97) and was a member of the USA Road Racing Team, competing internationally in the USA Chiba Ekiden (2002) and the Japan Ekiden (2003).

A professional educator, she holds an MS in Organic Chemistry from UC Davis.  She ran competitively while obtaining her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Berea College (KY). She is a Level III certified coach, which is the highest level conferred by USA Track & Field.