Jesse Taylor Takes Reins at Custer County


Not everyone around these parts knows Jesse Taylor, but more than a few do from his days at Adams State. Contributed photo.

When Jack Swartz left Westcliffe to take a teaching position in the Denver metro area (Swartz will be helping coach at Pomona this fall), that left a big hole in the Custer County distance program. It's a program that's seen a few such holes in recent years, but they always seem able to find folks with a nice resume to fill those holes.

Hired to head up Custer County cross country this fall is Jesse Taylor, a former Adams State runner. If you recognize names like Pat Porter, Rob Hipwood, Greg Weich, Rick Robirds, Dan Maas, and Chuck Schwartz, Taylor traded strides with those legends during his years at Adams State. The highlight of his college career was a third-place finish in the steeplechase at NAIA nationals in 1989.

Taylor has enjoyed previous coaching stints at The Master's College (California) and Los Alamos High School and Middle School (New Mexico). Coming to Los Alamos for a while to work under Rob and Kathy Hipwood was a natural fit in a couple of respects. As already noted, Taylor ran at Adams while Hipwood was a post-graduate runner there, and Taylor graduated from Los Alamos High School.

It was just a year ago that the Taylor family moved to Custer County.

Taylor is currently working on his Master of Divinity degree at Sangre de Cristo Seminary near Westcliffe, while also working online as an editor. His coaching responsibilities will extend to the distance runners during track season.

As you may have already pieced together, Taylor is the father of Jerald Taylor, a rising star within the 2A distance ranks. The younger Taylor, who is the fourth of eight children (a pattern of success perpetuation already pioneered by another 2A coach), finished fifth in the 2A 1600 and second in the 2A 3200 this spring as a junior. 

Taylor reports a nice group of runners showing up for some summer work at Custer County. We'll postulate a strong season ahead for the Bobcats.

Have a new coach at your school who's never been profile on Colorado Track XC? Drop me a line and we'll see what we can put together. It's fun to have a little advance info on whom I'll be rubbing shoulders with this fall!