Cimarron’s Joe Giglia was recently honored as the National High School Girls Track and Field Coach of the Year as named by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.
Giglia has been the Cimarron High School Track and Field coach for almost three decades and was recently nominated by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association to represent New Mexico in the competition for the award.
These eight nominees in each category from all over the country were then invited to attend the NHSACA National Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota which began June 15, 2015. Each were asked to present a topic concerning their sport, and Joe’s presentation was called “Turning Flames into Fire, The Cimarron Way.”
Including this year’s NM State Championship, his girls teams have won 7 State Championships, (1992, ’94, ’95, ’97, 2005, ’06, ’15) 7 runner-up second place finishes, and 4 third place finishes all at the state level. Giglia’s girls track teams have won 25 District championships in his 29 years as head coach. The Rams boys and girls teams have combined for 12 state championships (including co-winners this year) and 24 state trophies in the last 26 years
Giglia was also nominated in 2006 for the same national honor, is a 2011 inductee into the NM Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame and is a seven time NM High School Coach of the Year.
Giglia and his wife Loretta are both retiring this year from Cimarron Schools, but are planning on remaining in the area.
