your coaches

Hey all!! Coach Nietert here. I have been the head cross country coach at Shadow Ridge HS for nine years. I believe that cross country gives an opportunity to all to reach great new heights. It is a sport that will challenge you at all levels. It exposes your strengths, weaknesses, and puts you head to head in competition that sometimes comes down to the athlete that is willing to dig deeper to get the result they want. My favorite part of the cross country season is the summer preparation. This is where we get to play in the mountains and on the trails. We find our mental toughness and fitness that we get to fine tune during the fall season. With running, I am currently finding my way with ultramarathons. I enjoy the challenge of exploring what I am capable of with my fitness. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family of seven and travelling. 

Hello all! I am Isabella Arias, the head girls cross country coach! I was a part of the SRHS cross country team when I went to high school from 2017-2019. I learned so much from my amazing coaches and received a scholarship to run in college. After college I have continued running, doing many half marathons and marathons. Through running I have made the best friends and memories. My goal as a coach is to help push the team to reach their full potential.  

Hello, I’m Coach York. I’ve been coaching high school cross country for over 10 years and love helping young athletes grow in confidence, endurance, and character. My own running journey began later in life while training for an archery elk hunt—and it quickly turned into a passion. Since then, I’ve completed many half marathons, five full marathons, an ultramarathon, and regularly compete in the XTERRA trail series. In addition to cross country, I also coach Unified Sports, creating inclusive opportunities for all students to compete and connect through athletics. Off the course, I own a manufacturing company and help my wife run her coffee shop, Spencer’s Place. I’m blessed with an amazing wife, five kids, six grandkids, and a loyal dog named Goose. Coaching is one of the most rewarding parts of my life, and I’m excited to support our team every step of the way.

Hi, I am Coach Royer. I am an exercise science-minded Physical Therapist and coach, currently a coach at Shadow Ridge High School. Collegiately, I was an NJCAA All-American in the 3k Steeplechase and a back-to-back regional community college champion in 10k with Mesa Community College. Afterwards, I progressed to receiving a full scholarship at BYU-Hawaii (NCAA D2 Cross Country Team) with back-to-back All Pac-West honors. I have recently returned to running, achieving personal records in all distances, most notably 31:36 in the 10k and 1:10:55 for the Half Marathon. With a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and board certification in Pediatric Physical Therapy, I combine professional expertise with a passion for running for spearheading our newly established Shadow Ridge Distance Clinics.

Hi there, I am Coach Lee, I am the girls head cross country coach at Shadow Ridge and this will be my 8th year working with the SRHS cross country program. I also served as the SRHS boys head track coach for 4 years. I started distance running in high school in the late 1960’s when seeing runners out on the road was a rare occurrence.  Running has been a passion of mine ever since then and has provided me the opportunities to attend college and to travel and compete across North America and Europe. Now it’s my turn to give back to the sport that has given so much to me. 

Hey there! I’m Coach Ruebsamen. I started running track in high school, competing in the 400m and 4x400m, and joined cross-country my sophomore year to help build endurance. I was part of a girls' varsity team that won state three years in a row. After high school, I ran for Glendale Community College and was part of the first all-female team to qualify for nationals. At NAU, I joined the triathlon club and later graduated with a degree in Secondary Education in Physics. These days, I run for fun in local 5Ks and 8Ks while teaching at Shadow Ridge. I truly believe anyone can improve their fitness, and that there’s a place for everyone on this team.