#WEARERANCHO
Rancho Christian Athletics provide students with the opportunity to compete in a Christ-centered environment and be challenged to perform at the highest levels. Rancho Christian competes in the highly competitive Raincross Conference with over 15 different sports.
athletics programS
by the numbers
From the Athletic Director
"The goal is always to prepare them for life!" -Elzie Gatson, Athletic Director
One of Elzie’s main focuses is growing Rancho Christian to become the premier competitive sports program in the Inland Empire, creating experiences for student-athletes that are unmatched, and putting them on a pathway for scholarships and success in their next steps after high school.
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Elzie Gatson has been the Athletic Director at Rancho Christian for the past four years. Over that time, Rancho Christian's Athletic Department has doubled the amount of high school student-athletes, grown our Middle School Athletic Program to 200 participants throughout 9 different sports, created more competitive opportunities for our middle school age groups, moved Rancho Christian to a full public school league and conference for high school, added three lower level teams to bring us to a total of 15 sports, and has fundraised over six figures towards Rancho Christian Athletics. He is the Director for Student Life here on campus, leads campus clubs of his own, and also coaches.
Coach Gatson attended Division II , Humboldt State University, where he was awarded first team all-conference honors in his junior and senior years at the position of Defensive Back. Elzie graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology. He then went on to coach at Humboldt State after Graduation where the program rose to the rating of the #6 ranked team in the country. After returning home from college and prior to coming to Rancho Coach Gatson has mentored, trained, and coached hundreds of local and international athletes that have gone on to play collegiate athletics and professional.
Elzie’s favorite part of Rancho is the relationships he is able to build with the students and the influence he has to help them prepare for their futures. "The goal is always to prepare them for life!"
Athletics staff/coaches
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Antonio Williams-Rice
Middle School Athletic Director
Coach Rice served a 4 year tour in the U.S. Army where he picked up the rank of Sergeant and Coach Rice continues to serve his community now as an educator. Coach Rice seeks to develop competitive greatness in all of our athletes here at Rancho Christian. True competition is not defined by beating your opponent, it is determined by your character, and the courage to “step out” to compete against others. We become mentors for our athletes as coaches by allowing them to develop and evolve into student-athletes. While the “quest for victory” is a part of every contest, my commitment to Rancho demands we reject the “win at all costs” mentality, by channeling our athletic expectations into an obsession, to win every rep on the field.
As an athlete, Coach Rice achieved CIF State Championship Sprinter, First Team All - CIF Sprinter,
12 school records at Temecula Valley High School (2003-2005), the 4*100 Relay Record at Temecula Valley High School (2005), the single season rushing and scoring title at TVHS (2005).
Coach Rice was named All-Valley and All-CIF following both his junior and senior year at the high school level and was chosen to play in the Riverside vs. San Bernardino all- star game. He also played 2 years at Mount San Antonio Junior College and received a full scholarship to Missouri Science and Technology.
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William Lowe
Head High School Football Coach
Coach Lowe is a veteran high school coach with over 20 seasons of experience. He is currently in his second season at Rancho Christian and has ushered the program into the public school Raincross Conference. Before coming to Rancho, Coach Lowe was the Head Coach at Lincoln Prep in Kansas City, MO, where he compiled a record of 29-5 over his last three seasons. He set school records for wins in a season and had two undefeated regular seasons and a District Championship in 2021. He had seven All-State players and five Division 1 signees in 2020/2021. He was also the recipient of the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs NFL High School Coach of the Year.
"I am excited for the future of Rancho Christian Football and the direction the program is headed. Our facilities and level of competition will continue to elevate us as the premier private school in the Inland Empire." - Coach Lowe
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Jalen Lake
We are thrilled to introduce Jalen Lake as our Interim Head Coach for Rancho Christian's 2024-25 basketball season. Having been an integral part of former Coach Barefield’s staff, his leadership as Assistant Varsity Coach and Junior Varsity Head Coach has been invaluable. Beyond coaching, Coach Lake has significantly contributed to recruiting top-tier athletes and shaping our programs. He also impacts students in the classroom, fostering both athletic and academic growth.
After graduating from California State University San Marcos with a degree in Business Management, Coach Lake founded 'Team Keenan Allen' in 2015. This travel basketball program has become a cornerstone of Southern California basketball, with TKA facilitating scholarships and coaching over 30 collegiate athletes. He has also won two CIF Championships as an Associate Assistant Coach in San Diego.
Coach Lake’s Christ-centered philosophy emphasizes hard work, confidence, unity, and preparation for life beyond university. His commitment to developing well-rounded individuals aligns perfectly with our mission at Rancho Christian.
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Marlon Wells
Head High School Girls Basketball Coach
Coach Marlon Wells currently serves as the Head Girls Varsity Basketball coach at Rancho Christian in Temecula, California. Coach Wells was recently named as one of the top 100 most influential people in college women’s basketball.
As the girls’ basketball head coach, he was named the 2004, 2006, 2014 San Diego County Girls Basketball Coach of the Year and in 2017, was named to the WBCA 400 Wins Club. In 2021 he surpassed 500 coaching wins. At Bishop’s, Marlon was previously the assistant to the dean of students. Prior to joining Bishop’s, Marlon served as the varsity girls’ basketball coach at San Diego High School.
Coach Wells’ has won 6 CIF San Diego Section titles, along the way including most recently the 2023 Division 3A Southern Section Championship. Wells has coached and mentored many student athletes that have gone on to achieve their goals at the next level.
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Karlins Borrero
Head High School Girls Soccer Coach
Coach Borrero is a dedicated and self-motivated US Marine veteran with experience and knowledge of the game of soccer. From 1988-1998 Karl played Soccer in Venezuela and Colombia in the U-10, U-12, U-15, and U-17.
He played a variety of positions: defender, midfielder and most of his childhood career he was a Goalie. In 2007, after joining the Marines, he continued his playing career as goalkeeper for 2nd Transport Support Battalion’s soccer team aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 2010, Karl played as a goalkeeper for the 2010 and 2011 seasons and also served as an assistant coach in the 2011 season for the Headquarters Battalion’s soccer team aboard Camp Pendleton, California. In addition to coaching the high school team, coach Borrero coaches the boys Middle School and Elementary School. As a coach, he promotes, establishes, and maintains a safe and healthy environment where players can feel comfortable and secure. He evaluates each player in order to identify their strengths and the areas that need improvement.
He guides the students to perform well on the soccer field and in the classroom, as well as teaching them the importance of good sportsmanship, which encompasses discipline, patience, determination, and teamwork both on and off the field.
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Caitlyn Bato
Girls Volleyball Head Coach.
Caitlyn Bato grew up in Rowland Heights, CA where she played as a setter at Nogales High School in La Puente, CA. She advanced her skill sets playing club volleyball for Club Heights and Protège Volleyball Club. Caitlyn continued on to play collegiately indoor and beach at Cal State Los Angeles as a Libero/DS in 2015-2019 having incredible seasons. The best athletic moment was her senior year making it all the way to the semis of the West Regional NCAA DII Championship.
Caitlyn explains that she knew from that moment the Cal State Los Angeles Volleyball program was going to be exemplary. During her time as a collegiate athlete she majored in biology and was assisting at her old volleyball clubs during the off-season. She graduated in 2020 and continued her career in Clinical Science. After three years in the bio field, Caitlyn returned back to coaching club volleyball in 2022 in Temecula, CA working alongside her former college coach Juan Figueroa. She furthered her career as a graduate assistant coach for Concordia University Irvine Beach Volleyball in 2023-2024 helping the team to 2nd in the AVCA DII Small College Beach Volleyball Championship.
Currently, Caitlyn is completing her education at Concordia specializing in Masters of Science in Coaching and Exercise Science and continues to coach club volleyball at FIGS Volleyball. Her long-term goal is to become an HS Athletic Director herself and continue to inspire, mentor, and lead the youth wherever God leads her.
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Kirk Howe
High School Golf Coach
