FONTANA

He always seems to show a low-key approach to coaching cross country, but even Scott Nielsen has to pinch himself now and then.

“You do,” Nielsen said Wednesday morning, as the Fontana Jurupa Hills boys cross country team wound down after an early morning practice. “You have to look back and say, ‘Is this real?’”

One can’t blame him. How else could you explain the dramatic rise of his program, which, in just four years of existence, has gone from a few kids at a practice to a bona fide state-title contender that, as of Wednesday, was ranked 32{+n}{+d} nationally by dyestat.com?

On Saturday, the Spartans will toe the line at the CIF State Cross Country Championships contending for the state title in Division3, where the race figures to be another showdown between Brea Olinda, the Southern Section finals winner, and the Spartans, who were runners-up last weekend in the finals.

It will mark the second consecutive state-meet appearance for Jurupa Hills, which placed fifth in Fresno last year, a stark jump from the year prior, when the team got only to CIF-SS prelims.