Holy Cross names new head coaches for track and field, cross country

NEW ORLEANS – Holy Cross Athletic Director Mister Kirkwood announced Friday the appointments of head track and field coach Dexter Bass Jr. ’12 and head cross country coach David Westfall ’92.

Dexter Bass Jr. ’12 head track and field coach
Dexter Bass Jr. has been elevated to head coach of the Holy Cross track and field team after serving two seasons as an assistant.

Bass began his high school coaching career as the sprints coach at Holy Cross in 2020.

Over the last two seasons at HC, Bass has notably had five State Qualifiers in sprints in 2022, set a new school record in the 4x100m, 100m, and 200m, in 2022, while establishing new school records in the 4x200m indoors and outdoors.

Bass guided Holy Cross to an improved fifth-place team performance at the Class 5A Outdoor State Championship meet in 2022, the highest since 2011.

Bass served the past two years with outgoing head cross country and track and field coach, Ben Sines.

“Coach Sines put his faith in a rookie coach to lead the sprints program and his guidance as well as his leadership has been a model example that I will use moving forward,” Bass said. “Coach Sines is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the state and will be missed, I hope to build on what we started and to continue having Holy Cross compete on an elite-level.”

During Bass’s time as an assistant coach at HC, his distinguished accomplishments included coaching seven regional qualifiers and four regional champions; highlighted by three state champions in 2022 (4x100m, 100m, 200m).

Bass’s career in track and field began in 2014 as a student-athlete on the Wartburg College track and field team. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Wartburg College in 2017.

David Westfall ’92 cross country co-head coach
David Westfall has been promoted to head coach of the HC Cross Country team.

David began his coaching career in 2008 as the HC Middle School cross country coach. Over 14 seasons, he led the MS Tigers to win 10 Metro Championships and 3 runners-up.

For the same duration, David assisted Varsity XC Coaches Sean Allerton and later Ben Sines, during which the Varsity team won 2 LA State Titles (’08 and ’09) and multiple top 10 finishes. In 2019, he additionally began coaching the MS Track team, helping guide them to a NOAL Championship.

Westfall earned his BS in Biology from LSU and has been teaching Chemistry for 22 years, 15 of them at his alma mater, HC.

Blake Baldassaro ’18 cross country co-head coach
Blake Baldassaro ’18 will serve as the co-head cross country coach.

Blake has been a part of the distance running program since he joined the team his 7th grade year. While in high school, he was one of the top recruits in the state and lead the Tigers to a 4th place finish in the 2017 LHSAA 5A Cross Country Championships his senior year.

After graduating, Blake went on to run at LSU for 3 years, highlighted by two top 50 finishes, one in the NCAA South Central Regional, and one in the SEC Championship. These races netted him his personal bests of 24:21 (8k) and 31:39 (10k).

Blake is currently studying Computer Science at UNO with plans to pursue his Masters in Education.

About Holy Cross School
Holy Cross School is an independent, Catholic, college preparatory school founded in 1849 by the Congregation of Holy Cross School to educate young men from metropolitan New Orleans. Serving students grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12, Holy Cross School is fully accredited by the Louisiana State Department of Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and holds memberships in the National Catholic Educational Association, the National Middle School Association and the National High School Association. A Holy Cross School education engages the whole man – mind and heart, body and soul – and is rooted in the teachings of Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross. For more information about Holy Cross School visit www.holycrosstigers.com or call 504.942.3100.

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