COACHES

Brandon Thomas - Head Coach 

Servite High School is proud to announce the appointment of Brandon Thomas as head track and field coach. Coach Thomas will fill the opening left following Coach Richard Gibbs’s retirement. Thomas served as the Friars’ sprints coach for the last four seasons.

Athletic Director Matt Marrujo shared, “Brandon Thomas has demonstrated strong leadership and commitment to Servite during his time as an assistant coach. We are extremely excited for him to build on the existing foundation of the track and field program and believe the transition will be seamless. Coach Thomas is a very skilled and accomplished coach but more importantly, he is dedicated to our mission of forming faith-filled leaders.” 

Coach Thomas brings over 15 years of high school and collegiate coaching experience to the Friars as well as an impressive athletic resume himself. Having coached at East Los Angeles College and Long Beach City College in addition to co-founding Evo Track Club and Evo Sports Training, Coach Thomas has trained hundreds of youth, high school, collegiate and professional athletes throughout his career.  

Coach Thomas said, “I’m excited for the opportunity to continue the legacy that Coach Gibbs built. I promise to work hard to create a positive and supportive environment in which our athletes can thrive. My goal is to help our young men develop and achieve their best on and off the track.”

During his time at Servite thus far, Coach Thomas has helped numerous runners reach their full potential training Trinity League and CIF Champions, school record holders and All-County and All-State athletes. He also currently serves as and will remain the head track and field coach at Rosary Academy. 

As an athlete himself, Thomas ran track and field at Cal State Long Beach (‘95 & ‘96) and UCLA (‘97 & ‘98) where he was an NCAA All-American, Big West Champion and All-Pac 10 honoree in the 100m. In addition, he was a Pac 10 Champion in the 4x100m and member of the 2nd fastest relay team in UCLA history. During his time with the Bruins, he was trained by legendary coaches Tommy Smith and John Smith.  

Principal Stephen Walswick added, “Coach Thomas brings a great understanding and first-hand knowledge of the mission of Servite as an existing coach and former parent. He is a great fit to carry on the tradition of excellence within the track and field program and lead our young men with unmatched passion and enthusiasm. I look forward to seeing him continue to share his time and talents with our student-athletes and the community at large.”

Richard Gibbs- Assistant Coach

Coach Gibbs began his coaching career at Servite in 2002. Most recently, he led the Friars to a 3-peat winning Trinity League titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and a CIF-SS Championship in 2017. Following that season he was also named the OC Register Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year. During his time at Servite, the Friars have been CIF runner-ups twice and finished in the top ten eight times while winning six varsity and eight lower level championships. In addition, they have set more than two dozen school records and produced several CIF individual champions including Max Thomas in 2021 (100, 200).

Coaching Cross Country as well, Gibbs led the Friars to their first ever Trinity League title in 2015 and in 2004 his squad won the State title having the Southern Section Individual Champion as well.

He attended the University of Colorado, Boulder for undergrad and Cal State Fullerton for graduate school where he earned his Masters Degree in History. Coach Gibbs also teaches Health at Servite.

Thomas Caballero '03- Throws & Shot Put

A graduate from the Class of 2003, Coach Caballero was a two-sport athlete for the Friars playing Football and Track and Field. His senior year he advanced to the CIF Finals in the Discus before being recruited to compete for the UCR Highlanders where he earned a degree in Engineering. Coach Caballero returned to Servite in 2008 to coach track then began coaching football in 2010 before joining the Servite faculty as a math teacher in 2012. During that stretch he has had a CIF finalist in the Discus eight times, most recently Jeminai Leuta-Ulu in 2019. Coach Caballero is also the Head Freshman Football Coach. 

Brandon Thomas- Sprints

Coach Thomas began his college career at Long Beach State where he became a 5 time conference champion under the guidance of Coach Jerry Cablayan.  In addition, he still holds the Freshman 100 meter record and was a 1995 Junior All-American.  After 2 years at Long Beach State he transferred to UCLA, where he became a Pac 10 Conference Champion and All-American in the sprints.  His 4×100 meter relay team ranks 2nd all-time in the UCLA record books.

Coach Thomas has helped athletes reach their performance potential since 1998. He has coached many athletes at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, training CIF All-State and CIF Southern Section performers. Since 2010, Brandon has worked with Gary Cablayan to help athletes prepare for the NFL Combine. Through proper speed work and specific strength and power training, they have been able to build the physical qualities required to improve their times by an average of 0.2 seconds in the 40 yard dash.

Karson Hayden '11- Distance

Coach Hayden is a graduate of the Class of 2011 where he ran cross country and track and field for the Friars. While at Servite, he helped the 2009 cross country team to a seventh place finish at the California Division 3 State Meet. After Servite he attended the California State University of Monterey Bay where he ran for the Otters for four years. He returned to Servite in 2016 to coach cross country and track and also teach Biology and Chemistry. Since 2016 he has had two athletes make CIF Finals in the 800m and one in the 3200m as well as two CIF Finalist Cross Country teams. Coach Hayden also took over as the Co-Head Cross Country Coach for the 2019 season working alongside Coach Hills.

Randy Hills- Distance

Randy Hills joined the Servite coaching staff in 2018 to assist with cross country and track and field and took over as the Co-Head Coach of the Cross Country program in 2019. He is a graduate of St. John Bosco High School where he lettered in cross country and track all four years. He was a part of the first team in Bosco history to advance to the Cross Country California State Meet. Coach Hills earned All-CIF honors in both cross country and track. After his time at Bosco he attended California State University, Long Beach where he was a part of the cross country and track teams. Hills earned his degree in Liberal Studies and is currently the Physical Education Teacher at St. Pius V School in Buena Park. His coaching career started as an assistant coach at St. John Bosco, then he took over the programs at St. Josephs High School where he coached for seven seasons. Thereafter, he went to Bishop Amat where both Boys and Girls teams advanced and placed at the California State Meet. 

Larry Simms- Pole Vault

Coach Simms has been with Servite since 2007 helping to put Servite Pole Vaulters on the map. He has turned out 10+ CIF Finalists and one CIF Champion during that time as well as multiple state qualifiers. He has also helped prepare vaulters for the collegiate level including most recently- Ryan Riviere '14 (Fordham), Jesse Shank '14 (Notre Dame), Preston O'Connell '15 (Mt. SAC) and Landon Shank '16 (Notre Dame). He also coaches for Victory Athletics.

Varsity records