Sac-Joaquin Section Commissioner Pete Saco has often said that Elliot Christian High School is the model for small schools
wanting to build athletic programs.

Cliff Borden’s job is to try to take Elliot athletics to an even higher level.  Borden is the school’s new athletic director, replacing Jane Davis, who stepped down this summer after a successful nine-tenure that saw the school add football and build a softball program that is among the best in the state.

Cliff Borden (front and center) pictured with family

“I have some ties here, so I know a lot about the school and have kept up with it,” said Borden, whose sister and brother-in-law, Dan and Beth Lambdin, founded Elliot in 1997.

Borden is appreciative of what he’s been handed.  “Jane has done a great job of getting the program to where it is,” he
said. “My job is to come in and try to make it a little better.”  Borden seems well equipped for the challenge, with 25 years of coaching, teaching and administrative experience. He spent the last nine years at Redding Christian School, where he was the principal, a teacher and a softball coach.

Borden graduated from the University of Pacific with a degree in computer science and then started his career at Brookside Christian in Stockton in 1986, where he served as principal and athletic director before leaving for a school in Monterey in 1997.  He’s coached soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball and track.

“We’re expanding the role (of AD) to more administrative and he’s been an AD, administrator and teacher,” Elliot Principal David Couchman said of Borden. “He just has more ability to do some things.”  Borden is leaving a school that had an enrollment of about 130 students and coming to one that is at 225 and growing. He said he believes this year’s freshman class is already full.  “Even in this economy they’ve continued to grow,” Borden said.  He said he doesn’t intend to coach this year but it’s a possibility in the future.  Borden added that he could see Elliot adding some sports in the coming years.

Davis, who also taught physical education at Elliot, leaves an impressive legacy.  She took over as AD in 2002 and the school had a football team a year later, led by her husband, Dean. During her tenure the softball team won seven section championships.  Her sons, Jon and Matt, and daughter, Katie, were also star athletes at the school.  “Jane did a fantastic job. She is very upbeat and energetic and works well with the community and loves the kids,” Couchman said.

“Stepping up to coach track and field when there was no coach for the 2011 season — even though she had no track and field experience — That is very representative of her.”

Source: Lodi News 8/15/2011

Here is the list of Jim Elliot Christian High School graduates for 2011:

Aartman, Serena

Anema, Katie

Buhrkuhl, Emily

Cabral, Andrew

Cabral, Jamielyn

Canepa, Christian

Collins, William

Crawford, Stephanie

Cubangbang, Khelani

Elliot, Rachel

Giesbrecht, Sara

Goans, Whitney

Hanson, Laurel

Hausauer, Gabrielle

Hensley-Elliott, Jade

Huffhines, Charles

Lambdin, Amy

Leary, Ashtin

Liu, Christopher

Martinez, Ana

Martinez, Ronald

Monroe, April

Neeley, Kristen

Nicholas, George

Olson, Cameron

Olson, Jonathan Konanui

Olson, Kaitlyn

Patterson, Austin

Riley, Michelle

Robinson, Casee

Santos, Brianna

Schmidig, Kayla

Siken, Jacob

Smith-Newman, Sarah

Stanley, Emily

Treat, Sarah

Tunquist, Cierra

Vaughn, Matthew

Vierra, Lauren

Voorhees, Sarayah

Ward, Macie

Wesley, Aria

Congratulations!  You will be missed…

Kristen Neeley, valedictorian for Jim Elliot Christian High School’s Class of 2011, at Temple Baptist Church in Lodi on Saturday, May 28, 2011.

For Kristen Neeley, four years of hard work has paid off. This week, she walked across the graduation stage as valedictorian of Jim Elliot Christian High School.

“I really tried hard to get good grades. I took all the classes I could to challenge myself,” Neeley said.

Neeley graduated with a 4.2 grade point average earned by taking advanced placement history and calculus classes.

Neeley has always excelled in school, from before she attended middle school at Mokelumne River School and all the way through high school. She was a quick learner, and new subjects came easily.

But when it was time for calculus, she wondered if the complicated math would tarnish her history of perfect grades.

“I’m not used to not getting things right away,” she said.

But Neeley did what she knew to do. She studied harder. Put in extra time needed to grasp the material. And in the end, even conquered calculus.

Neeley’s mother, Michelle Neeley, says her daughter has always been a bright student, and they’ve always expected her to succeed.

“Her dad and I are so proud of everything she’s accomplished … it’s a blessing having her as a daughter,” Michelle Neeley said.

Throughout high school, Neeley enjoyed hanging out with friends, going to the movies, dining out with friends and playing softball.

She felt attending a small school like Jim Elliot — with about 50 seniors in her graduating class — allowed the students to be a part of a tight-knit group.

“It was just a really good environment and a good school,” she said, adding that she thinks the school helps give students morals and character.

One of her favorite high school memories is when the entire school went to a spiritual camp at Jessup Park at the beginning of the year.

Though Neeley will miss her friends and playing softball, she is excited about the future and working toward becoming a lawyer.

For the next two years, Neeley plans to attend Cosumnes River College before transferring to William Jessup, where she wants to major in political science. After that, she plans to go to University of the Pacific’s law school.

Contact Lodi Living Editor Lauren Nelson at laurenn@lodinews.com.

FIRST RUNNER UP: MISS TEEN LODI, MACKENZIE FREED

Mackenzie Freed is Runner Up for Miss Teenage Pageant

Mackenzie is a 15-year-old sophomore at Jim Elliot Christian
High School. She stands 5’6″ tall with blonde hair and blue/green eyes.
She serves in the Interact Community Service Club where she makes sandwiches
for the homeless in her area. She also is a volunteer for the Cancer Kids of
Lodi, and organization helping children with cancer. She has held a position in
student government for the past three years, and currently serves on her
schools Student Council. She is responsible for planning and organizing spirit
week, homecoming week as well as the winter formal. In addition she is involved
in track and field at school, as well as being active in basketball and
cheerleading,. She plays both the guitar and piano, and hopes to graduate with
high honors and eventually proceed to law school, with a long- range goal of
becoming a prosecutor. As this year’s 1^st runner up she is the
recipient of a $4,000 college scholarship.

An Emperor Exposed

Bravo!  Bravo!  Audiences were amazed and entertained by the Elliot students’ performance of An Emporer Exposed which is a take on the story of the Emporer’s New Clothes.  Students, school staff and parents have been working very hard for months on the production.  The had a sold out crowd opening night, Friday at 7pm on May 6th.  Chairs had to be added to accomodate the crowd!  What a blessing.  Performances ran Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 2pm and 7pm.    A video was recorded of the performances and may be available.  Contact Mr. Stow or Mrs. Theisen at JECHS at 209-368-2800.  When asked to comment, Mr. Stow said the glory belonged to God.  He said that despite a nearly new group to acting, the students did a marvelous job.  They worked hard since January and even though there were struggles with role changes and prop difficulties, they worked through it all and made a wonderful play come to life!

An Emperor Exposed is based on the play Dean L. Dyer and was directed by Mr. Steve Stow.