At Madera South, they're running for a man who coaches well but cares a lot more.

"He's not just a winner," Stallions athletic director Marty Bitter says of Rich Parris, The Bee's boys cross country Coach of the Year, "he's a positive winner.

"He has endless, endless energy, and that passion and ability to motivate kids takes him to the top. Kids will do anything for him, and the reason is they know he'll do anything for them."

At Madera South, a school with a large percentage of Hispanic students who speak English as a second language, this may matter more.

At least Parris thinks so: "My athletes have difficult situations to deal with. When they come to me, I always want them to know they're loved, appreciated and supported. I never give up on my kids because I may be the only person in their lives to convince them they can do something."

The same coach who guided Madera High's boys to five consecutive Central Section Division I cross country titles from 2002-06 has now won two straight section D-III boys championships next door at Madera South.

Further, this has occurred at a school in only its third year of varsity competition and second year of seniors.

One season after capturing the D-III title by 23 points over Roosevelt, the Stallions proved even more dominant this time, scoring a 49-point conquest of Ridgeview.

Madera South's top five runners finished in the top 16, led by winner Isaiah Lorenzo, a junior and Bee All-Star; a sixth from junior Angel Flores; and an eighth from sophomore Nathan Esparza.

"We lost three seniors from last year," Parris says, "but we knew we had some kids who could run. We had to step it up, and that meant pushing in the summer and setting expectations at a very high level."

Bitter says: "Amazing. Rich has turned this program around over night."

Parris cites the likes of coaches Marty Simpson (Buchanan) and Rob Brenner (Clovis), among others around the section, and shrugs his shoulders: "I don't know that I do anything different than them."

But he knows this: "It goes back to the idea of loving a kid, being there for that child, setting very high standards and expecting them to meet them. If they don't, we take a couple steps back and try again.

"I'll never give up on them."