After a successful season under interim head coach Sean Gwi, the team is once again in limbo.
When Nick Mattis, head coach of nearly 20 years, left at the end of the 2024 track and field season, Gwi stepped up.
In 2025, Gwi’s debut year, De Anza maintained its status as a contending 3C2A team, comparable to Mattis’s dominant final 2024 season — men and women athletes succeeded under multiple events, earning top medals in the California Community College Athletic Association.
Now that the season is over and the buzz of a couple athletes achieving All-American honors has settled, the question remains of who will lead the team next year.
Two names emerged as frontrunners: Gwi, who is favored mostly by sprinters, and Dominique Guinnane, backed by many distance runners.
Mattis said he preferred to hire his former track athletes as coaches, such as Mike Munsick, throws coach.
“As people have gone through my program to train the way I want and know my system,” said Mattis in an interview in June 2024. “They come back and I rehire them … they know my expectations.”
Athletes said they don’t want to see a stranger brought into the role. They want an in-house coach, similar to Mattis’ hiring method.
Vincent Nguyen, 20, computer engineering major and returning sprinter, reflected on the contrast in coaching styles.
“(Mattis) was a great head coach, but I think in terms of technical skill and stuff he lacked it and the sprinters suffered,” Nguyen said. “But whenever Coach Sean would come over, you could just tell by the drills he set up for us, things were different.”
Two time All-American James Estrella, 19, business and economics major, experienced Guinnane’s coaching first hand.
“Coach Dom is someone who has pushed us more than I could’ve asked for. She has always been one of those coaches that believed,” Estrella said.
The runners said they saw a shift in coaching style — more personal, more hands on and focused on an athlete’s individual growth.
Sophomore sprinter Marisa Windham, 22, kinesiology major, recalled her final year on the team.
“(It) was truly unforgettable. Coach Sean taught me discipline, resilience, and patience,” Windham said. “He showed up to every meet, offering unwavering support to each and every one of us, consistently (going) above and beyond to ensure we were not only prepared, but genuinely cared for.”
Gwi acknowledged the responsibilities of a track coach.
“I feel like anyone that is qualified and passionate about it (coaching) should go for it,” Gwi said. “I’m at a point in my life (where) it’s like, you do what’s best for you and your family. You do what’s best for the program.”
The goal is simple: find someone who cares deeply and is qualified.
“I don’t think (sprinters or distance runners) want to see a different head coach that they bring in and it goes back to how Mattis was,” Nguyen said.
