Westmoor names track after longtime coach Ron DiMaggio

In his 46th year in charge of Westmoor’s running teams, DiMaggio was honored Wednesday at the track where he’s made his home away from home, at Jane Powell Field, with the unveiling of the track’s new name: Coach Ron DiMaggio Track & Field.

The Jefferson Union High School District unanimously approved the name at their April 24 meeting, with the formal vote being punctuated with a standing ovation by the school board members.

“What really stands out ... is how consistently people describe him as so much more than a coach,” JUHSD Superintendent Toni Presta said at the April 10 school board meeting. “Current students, alumni, parents and staff, they all talk about him as a mentor, someone whose investment in kids doesn’t stop at the finish line.”

Perez is testament to the results DiMaggio has produced on the track since taking over Westmoor cross country and track prior to the 1979-80 school year.

A 5-foot spark plug when at Westmoor, Perez recalled her first track meet against San Mateo, running the girls’ 800 meters and going from 12th place to third place within the course of a single lap. It was the beginning of a four-year varsity career, and finding her niche in the process.

“That team was a family,” Perez said. “Or, at Westmoor, we call it a Ram-ily.”

So, when it was time for daughter Ariel — the oldest of her three children — to start high school, one year out of the COVID pandemic, no less, Perez insisted she attend Westmoor to give cross country a try, something Ariel did reluctantly.

Perez said her daughter arrived for summer workouts, but was the only girl that showed on that first day.

“He was like: ’It’s going to get better,’” Perez said. “It wasn’t until school started and they had the after school practices.”

Just as Perez had, Ariel made quick strides at Westmoor. In her first two cross country meets, she went from placing 36th at the season opening Lowell Invitational, to placing 12th in the freshman race at Westmoor’s host Ram Invitational. By Ariel’s sophomore year, she and her cross country friends were trick or treating together that October, the first year returning to “real” Halloweens following the pandemic.

Perez’s two sons are currently on the track team at Westmoor.

“Being on that team for the four years was what made high school,” Perez said. “Then to relive it watching my kids do it, and my daughter’s sophomore year, that cross-country team was so tight. They just came together so well.”

Wednesday’s ceremony to honor DiMaggio saw the unveiling of a temporary banner with the track’s new name. A permanent sign is scheduled to be dedicated at a formal ceremony, Saturday, June 20.

Said DiMaggio at the April 24 JUHSD school board meeting: “The kids knew track and field was my love and it was just amazing to know this is actually going to be — I feel like it’s the greatest honor that a track coach can get, is to get the facility named after them.”