David Turnbull
Summit High School
Impact Statement
Turnbull has continued to lead Summit to success on and off the field.
Biography
The school’s only track and field coach since Summit opened its doors in 2001, Turnbull’s boys and girls teams have won seven state team championships in less than a decade.
The Storm swept the 5A state titles last season. Now in his 23rd year of coaching, Turnbull led the boys team to its first 4A state title in 2005. His girls teams, after finishing second in 4A in 2006, are the five-time defending 5A state champions, and are heavily favored to win a sixth straight title this spring.
A Bend native, Turnbull graduated from cross-town Mountain View High School, and competed at Oregon State University, graduating in 1988. Turnbull was an All Pac-10 competitor, clearing seven feet in the high jump and also competing in the long jump, triple jump and the 4×100 relay. A strict disciplinarian, Turnbull administers random drug tests to his athletes and coaches, and forces parents to run laps for using profane language.
Still, nearly 200 student-athletes come out for his boys and girls teams each year. Also a professional musician, Turnbull formed the group “Count Zero” while still a student at Oregon State, and today operates Studio 7 DJ and Recording Services. A six-time Coach of the Year honoree by the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association, Turnbull was named Northwest Region Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations in 2006.
Since being honored, Turbull continues to lead at Summit.
Professional Achievements
Pearl High School
Barnett is one of the most successful track and field and cross country coaches in Mississippi history.
Woody Barnett
Pearl High School
Impact Statement
Barnett is one of the most successful track and field and cross country coaches in Mississippi history.
Biography
In a 34-year teaching and coaching career, Barnett has become one of the most successful track and field and cross country coaches in Mississippi history.
A Jackson native and a graduate of Mississippi College, Barnett has coached Pearl to 43 state team championships in cross country and track, most recently back-to-back boys track and field state titles in 2011 and 2012. His boys cross country teams most recently won three straight state titles from 2008-10, two in 4A and the last in 5A. He has coached 145 individual state champions in the two sports.
Barnett also has served as Pearl’s athletic director since 1997, and the school’s programs have won 45 state championships in all sports during his tenure. Inducted into the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) Hall of Fame in 2008, Barnett was honored both as its Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year and its Athletic Director of the Year in 2011.
He is an eight-time MAC Coach of the Year in cross country and track and field. The Jackson Clarion-Ledger has named Pearl the recipient of the 5A All-Sports Award four times during Barnett’s tenure. The National Federation of State High School Associations named Barnett National Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2004, and he was named Gill Athletics Southeast Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year by USA Track and Field in 2011.
Barnett retired in 2013 after a 36 year career that boasted 43 MHSAA State Championships in Track & Field and Cross County.
In May of 2016, Barnett was selected to be the first Executive Director of the Mississippi Athletic Administrators Association (MAAA). As of 2020, Barnett still maintains his position working towards gaining attraction and bringing Athletic Director’s together.
Records
Professional Achievements
The Heritage High School
Villaflor led his tennis teams to success both on and off the court over his 41 years at the helm.
Dick Villaflor
The Heritage High School
Impact Statement
Villaflor led his tennis teams to success both on and off the court over his 41 years at the helm.
Biography
A state doubles champion at El Reno High School in 1973, Villaflor arrived at Heritage Hall in 1978 after graduating from the University of Central Oklahoma. He won his first girls state title in 1980 in 2A, and the Chargers are still going strong. They are now the four-time defending state champions, and Villaflor has won 21 girls state team titles. Along with the 11 titles he won when he coached the boys team, he has 32 state titles in all, along with 20 state runner-up finishes. This spring, Heritage Hall moved up to 5A after winning the past three years in 4A, giving Villaflor girls state titles in four different classifications. He also has coached boys and girls cross country and basketball during his tenure. All three of Villaflor’s children, Natalie (Class of 2004), Caleb (Class of 2008) and Carissa (Class of 2011) were state champion tennis players at Heritage Hall and earned college scholarships.
Villaflor served three one-year terms as president of the Oklahoma Tennis Coaches Association (OTCA), and now serves as its Executive Director. The OTCA named him its Coach of the Year in 2003. Villaflor was named National Girls Tennis Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association in 2011 and by the National Federation of State High School Associations this year.
After being honored, Villaflor stepped away from Heritage Hill in 2013. He took a teaching and coaching position at Yukon High School.
After 41 years, Villaflor stepped down from Yukon in 2020 but plans to be active in some capacity.
Professional Achievements
Moorestown High School
“Every group presents the same challenge: how can the young men become the best individual players and form the best team possible.” -Bill Kingston
Bill Kingston
Moorestown High School
Impact Statement
“Every group presents the same challenge: how can the young men become the best individual players and form the best team possible.” -Bill Kingston
Biography
Now in his 39th season coaching the school’s boys and girls teams, Kingston, 69, became the nation’s all-time leading winner last spring.
A 5-0 Moorestown victory over Columbus Burlington Township High last May was No. 955 in his career. It was one of the highlights of a season which saw the Quakers post a 23-9 record, win the Burlington County Scholastic League Liberty Division title, the Burlington County Open team championship and the South Jersey Group 3 championship.
The Quakers were runners-up in the Group 3 state tournament and two top in-season team tournaments, the Moorestown Classic and the Westfield Invitational. With a career record of 965-173 entering this season, Kingston guided the Moorestown boys to the South Jersey Group 2 championship in 2001 and the Central Jersey and state Group 3 championship in 2007.
His girls team won the South Jersey Group 3 championship in 2007 and has won 23 consecutive section titles. Kingston is one of the deans of tennis coaches in a tennis-rich area which also includes Jeff Holman of Haddonfield Memorial High, the NHSCA National Girls Tennis Coach of the Year in 2009, and Ralph Ipri, who retired from Cherry Hill East High after setting the record Kingston broke, 954 victories. Between them, the three own nearly 3,000 wins.
Since being honored, Kingston continued to lead the Moorestown to success. He stopped coaching the girls’ team in 2012. In April of 2013, Kingston hit the momentous step of win number 1,000 with a 3-2 win over Watchung Hills.
Kingston stepped down after 47 years at the helm in 2020. Unfortunately, this season did not happen due to COVID-19. Over the course of his career, he coached 13 state and 41 sectional championship teams. He hangs his racket up with a career record of 1,145-226. Kingston leaves a legacy behind at Moorestown.
Records
New Trier High School
Woodbury led New Trier to multiple state championships over the duration of his career. He’s coached over 100 All Americans.
Bruce Woodbury
New Trier High School
Impact Statement
Woodbury led New Trier to multiple state championships over the duration of his career. He’s coached over 100 All Americans.
Biography
Coaching at a school that has been a swimming powerhouse for nearly a century, and remains home to the NHSCA National Boys Swimming Coach of the Year in 2005, Mark Onstott,
Woodbury made his own mark on the school. He retired for the final time this spring after leading the Trevians to their second consecutive state title, and their 11th overall under Woodbury in three separate stints as coach.
In 1970, when New Trier was two separate high schools, Woodbury arrived at New Trier West High, eventually launching a girls swimming team in 1977. He coached the West boys team to a third-place state finish in 1980, the best finish in program history. When the two schools reunited for the 1981-82 school year, Woodbury became the girls swimming coach, leading the Trevians to seven consecutive state titles from 1982-88.
He retired after that season, but took the reins again in 1997 for another five-year stint, and after three consecutive state runner-up finishes, won two more state titles in 2000 and 2001 before again stepping down. Onstott assumed the girls head coaching duties, but when he stepped down after the 2005 season, Woodbury returned for one final stint, completing it with titles in 2011 and 2012. His teams also finished second six times.
In 2009, the Illinois Swimming Association created the Bruce Woodbury Hall of Fame Award to recognize outstanding coaching of girls swimming in the state.
In 2019, Woodbury was among the inaugural class of inductees to the newly minted Athletic Department Hall of Honor. Additionally, the Illinois Swimming and Diving Association’s Girls Hall of Fame Award has been named in his honor. The award is given to an individual(s) who have promoted girls swimming in all levels through their leadership and achievements.
Records
Professional Achievements
Bishop Hendricken High School
Hanson is one of the most decorated swimming coaches. He has led Bishop Hendricken to 32 State Team titles.
Dave Hanson
Bishop Hendricken High School
Impact Statement
Hanson is one of the most decorated swimming coaches. He has led Bishop Hendricken to 32 State Team titles.
Biography
Hanson created the Bishop Hendricken swim team as a club sport in 1978. Three years later, the now-varsity Hawks claimed the first of 26 state team titles under Hanson’s direction.
In February, Hendricken won its 23rd consecutive state title – the nation’s longest active streak – and also owns two New England titles and four runner-up finishes. Among Hanson’s many awards: the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA) David H. Robertson Excellence in Coaching Award in 2006 and the NISCA Outstanding Service Award in 2010.
He has served in every swimming leadership capacity in Rhode Island, including two terms as president of the Rhode Island Swim Coaches Association and its treasurer since 2000, and president and member of the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 1992.
He was named Boys Coach of the Year by the Rhode Island Athletic Administrators Association in 1995, and received the Larry Gallogly Humanitarian Award from the Providence Gridiron Club in 1998. Hanson has earned three STOYKO Awards for sportsmanship from the Rhode Island Swim Officials Association, which also presented him with the Joseph L. Tracey Memorial Award for contributions to swimming in 1999. The Providence Journal named Hanson one of the 100 most significant people in Rhode Island high school sports in the 20th century.
Since being honored, Hanson continues to lead Bishop Hendricken to success. The teams have won the state title the past five seasons from 2015 until 2020. In addition, they won the 2013 State title, which was their 24th straight.
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Broad Run High School
“You always play for something – to win, for your team.” -Claire Collins
Claire Collins
Broad Run High School
Impact Statement
“You always play for something – to win, for your team.” -Claire Collins
Biography
In just her 10th season at the helm, Collins already is a two-time NSCAA National Coach of the Year, having earned the honor in 2004 and 2009. She also was named Group AA Coach of the Year by the Virginia High School Coaches Association in 2010.
The four-time defending AA state champions, Collins’ team, 6-2-4 so far this season, faces the biggest challenge in its history this spring, having moved up to big-class 3A. Entering this season, Collins’ teams have a career record of 172-19-11 and five AA state titles, in 2001, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and a second-place finish in 2004.
The Spartans compiled a 92-3-2 mark during the past four state championship years, including back-to-back unbeaten seasons in 2008 (24-0) and 2009 (23-0-1). They posted 62 shutouts in those four years, outscoring their opponents by a combined 363-47 margin. That run also includes a 57-match unbeaten streak and an 84-match streak against district opponents.
Four of Collins’ teams have allowed less than one goal per game, led by the 2009 team, which allowed just four goals all season. The Spartans’ goals-against percentage of 0.17 that season is a single-season state record, as are their 24 victories in 2008 and 2011.
Since 2012, Collins’ and her teams continue to be triumphant. Broad Run won another championship in 2015, where they shut out Stone Bridge, 3-0.
Records
St. Xavier High School
“It will always be about the kids.”
-Andy Schulten
Andy Schulten
St. Xavier High School
Impact Statement
“It will always be about the kids.”
-Andy Schulten
Biography
Schulten is the fourth St. Xavier coach to be named NHSCA National Coach of the Year, more than any other school. He joins Joseph Kroh (boys tennis, 1999), Marty Donlon (boys golf, 2006) and Marty O’Toole (boys swimming, 2008).
Since taking the reins in 1998, Schulten has led the Tigers to seven state championships (of the 11 owned by the school) and eight trips to the state title game. His seventh state title came last fall, when St. Xavier finished 27-1-1, won its final 26 games of the season and outscored four state tournament opponents by an 11-1 margin. He also led the Tigers to state titles in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2009, with a second-place state finish in 2001.
In the last five seasons, his teams compiled a 116-7-6 record. Schulten was a National High School Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year finalist in 2010, and was named Mideast Region Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations the same year.
His teams have been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Academic team the past two seasons with a team GPA of 3.91 in 2010 and 3.98 in 2011. A 1987 St. Xavier graduate, Schulten was a four-year starter at Centre College, earning NSCAA All-South Region honors as a senior in 1990.
Since being honored in 2012, Schulten has continued to lead St. Xavier to success. His teams have won an additional three titles in the fall of 2012, 2017 and 2018.
In addition, Schulten is involved with the Falls City Soccer Club. Here, they strive to teach student athletes the fundamentals and development of their players.
Records
Professional Achievements
Allen High School
Gravley guided a young Allen team to the 5A state team title this year, the third of her career.
Karen Gravley
Allen High School
Impact Statement
Gravley guided a young Allen team to the 5A state team title this year, the third of her career.
Biography
Gravley guided a young Allen team to the 5A state team title this year, the third of her career. A Lady Eagles lineup that consisted of two seniors, four sophomores and a freshman won the District 8-5A tournament by 60 strokes, then shot 288-293-581 to win the state title by 11 shots. Under Gravley’s direction, Allen also won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 – the first state titles won by the school in any sport – and also finished second in state in 2010 and third in 2011. Gravley is a five-time District Coach of the Year and a three-time North Texas High School Golf Coaches Association (NTHSGCA) Coach of the Year. She served as NTHSGCA vice-president in 1990 and president in 1991. The National Federation of State High School Associations named her Southwest Region Coach of the Year in 2007. A 1974 graduate of Oklahoma State University, Gravley taught health and physical education for five years at Dallas Trinity Christian Academy before embarking on a professional golf career. She played on the Women’s Professional Golf Tour and the Ladies Asian Golf Tour, earning her LPGA Tour card in 1984. She returned to education in 1987, coaching the boys and girls golf teams for four years at Flower Mound Marcus High and the women’s team at Southern Methodist University for one season before taking the reins at Allen in 1992. She teaches physical education at Kerr Elementary School in Allen.
Edmond North High school
Doherty left a dynasty at Edmond North with 12 state titles to his coaching resume.
Jeff Doherty
Edmond North High school
Impact Statement
Doherty left a dynasty at Edmond North with 12 state titles to his coaching resume.
Biography
Doherty has presided over a powerhouse at Edmond North.
This spring, the Huskies won their eighth consecutive 6A state team title, one of the nation’s longest current streaks, winning the 54-hole state meet by 27 strokes. Doherty’s 2006 title team also was the state academic champion. His girls team finished fifth this spring, and his boys and girls teams each have a pair of state runner-up finishes as well.
A 32-year teaching and coaching veteran, Doherty has coached golf for 25 years, but also has coached basketball for 32 years. He taught U.S. History at Midwest City High School for 11 years, and today teaches physical education at Cheyenne Middle School in Edmond, where he also coaches eighth-grade basketball and seventh-grade football, and he also serves as the clock operator at Edmond North’s football games. Doherty is the Region 8 representative for the Oklahoma Golf Coaches Association.
He has been named Boys Golf Coach of the Year four times and Girls Golf Coach of the Year twice by The Daily Oklahoman and is a three-time Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association Region 8 Coach of the Year. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) named Doherty its Southwest Region Coach of the Year in 2008. This year, the NFHS honored him as its National Coach of the Year.
After being honored, Doherty continued to lead Edmond North until his retirement after the 2018 season. He coached a total of 12 State Championship teams and seven state individual champs over his career.
Records
Professional Achievements
The Tatnall School
Castagno has led the Tatnall Cross Country and Track and Field teams since 2001. He still continues to lead them to success state and nation wide.
Patrick Castagno
The Tatnall School
Impact Statement
Castagno has led the Tatnall Cross Country and Track and Field teams since 2001. He still continues to lead them to success state and nation wide.
Biography
Castagno, who coaches six teams at Tatnall – the boys and girls teams in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field – led Tatnall, a school with a total enrollment of 266 students, to its eighth consecutive Division 2 girls state championship.
Starting in 2001 with just two boys and four girls on his roster, Castagno has built the roster to over 15 per squad. Tatnall was named the NHSCA Girls Small School National Team Champions by xcnation.com, which ranked the Hornets third overall nationally.
Tatnall competed against the top teams in the nation, scoring victories over 20 of the top 25 teams. He coached senior Haley Pierce to her third straight medalist honor. His indoor track teams have combined for five state team titles and his outdoor track teams for seven titles, with his girls team bidding for a sixth straight title this spring. Castagno was named Gill Athletics Mid-Atlantic Girls Track and Field Coach of the Year by USA Track and Field in 2011.
A nine-time state Coach of the Year, Castagno was named boys and girls indoor track Coach of the Year in 2011 by the cross country and track coaches association, N5CTA, making him the first coach to earn boys and girls honors in the same year since 1995.
A computer instructor at Tatnall, Castagno is a former Instructor of Biomechanics at the University of Delaware, from which he graduated in 1988, and the former director of the Gait Analysis Laboratory at the DuPont Hospital for Children.
Since being honored, Castagno is still at the helm of Tatnall’s boys’ and girls’ programs. Overe the duration, he’s led runners 200 state individual and relay state titles. He boasts 40 Delaware State Team Championship titles in Cross Country and Track & Field. He’s also coached 30 State individual champions.
Records
Professional Achievements
Calvin Christian High School
TenKate leads the boys’s and girls’ cross country teams at Calvin Christian. He leads both on the track and off the track, as a competitor himself.
Laurens TenKate
Calvin Christian High School
Impact Statement
TenKate leads the boys’s and girls’ cross country teams at Calvin Christian. He leads both on the track and off the track, as a competitor himself.
Biography
Coaching at a school with a total enrollment of 375 students, TenKate, who coaches the boys and girls cross country teams and the boys track and field team, led Calvin Christian to back-to-back Lower Peninsula boys state championships.
His 2009 boys team finished second in state. In winning their second straight Division 3 title, the Squires also cemented their place as the top team in Michigan. That came after Calvin Christian won the prestigious Spartan Invitational, held at Michigan State University. It was their fifth title in six regular-season invitationals, and they have won 19 of 22 invitationals the past three years. Calvin Christian was named the NHSCA Boys Small School National Team Champions by xcnation.com, which ranked the Squires fifth overall nationally.
A graduate of Calvin College with degrees in business administration and accounting, TenKate has qualified for the Boston Marathon five times. He served as the controller of the Greater Grand Rapids Home Builders Association and is the owner of Laurens TenKate Builders LLC, a custom homebuilding and remodeling company based in Wyoming, Mich. He coached the girls cross country team to an eighth-place state finish last fall and the boys track and field team to a fifth-place state finish last spring.
TenKate continues to lead Calvin Christian after being honored. In 2018, his girls’ team finished second in the state. Most recently, in the fall of 2019, his boys’ finished with a second place finish in the Division 3 Michigan State Championships.
Records
Hiland High School
Schlubach has coached 5 State Championship teams and boasts over 600 wins over his career thus far.
David Schlabach
Hiland High School
Impact Statement
Schlubach has coached 5 State Championship teams and boasts over 600 wins over his career thus far.
Biography
Coaching in small-school Division 4, Schlabach has led the Lady Hawks to a 458-74 record in 21 seasons. His teams have won four state titles – in 2000, 2005, 2006 and 2008 – and his 2000 and 2005 teams finished unbeaten with 28-0 records.
The Lady Hawks also advanced to the state championship game in three of the past four seasons. The third of those title-game trips came this season as Hiland (19-9) finished strong despite the most losses by a Schlabach-coached team since his first season, in 1991-92. In all, 10 of his teams have reached the state’s Final Four, and he has coached 10 regional champions, 11 district champions and 19 sectional champions, and his teams have won or shared the Inter-Valley Conference (IVC) title 19 straight years.
Schlabach coached the Girls East squad in the McDonald’s All-American Game in 2010, and was named National Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations in 2009, one of many honors he has received. He is a 10-time IVC Coach of the Year, a seven-time District 5 Coach of the Year, and a 12-time Eastern District Coach of the Year.
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association named Schlabach Division 4 Coach of the Year in 2000, and he was The Associated Press Division 4 Coach of the Year in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2006. His younger brother, Mark, is the boys basketball coach at Hiland, and led the Hawks to Division 4 state titles the past two seasons.
Since being honored in 2012, Schlabach has continued to lead the Lady Hawks. In 2017, he led the team to another Division IV State Championship. Most recently, they were in the Final Four in 2019. Schlabach currently owns a 634-96 career record, that’s a 86.8% winning percentage after 730 games.
Records
Professional Achievements
Wheeler High School
Lipscomb has impacted his players and his community. After stepping away from coaching, he’s now trying to grow the sport with the aide of his podcast.
Douglas Lipscomb
Wheeler High School
Impact Statement
Lipscomb has impacted his players and his community. After stepping away from coaching, he’s now trying to grow the sport with the aide of his podcast.
Biography
An All-State basketball player in high school and a 1984 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, Lipscomb served seven seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Gainesville (GA) High, before taking the reins at Wheeler, which finished 4-20 the season prior to his arrival.
He guided the Wildcats to a 15-12 record in his first season, then to the first of his five 5A state championships in 1994. Wheeler claimed four more state titles in the past decade – in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2009 – and in 2005 became the first Georgia school in 54 years to claim three state titles in a four-year span.
That year, Lipscomb was named National Boys Coach of the Year by StudentSports.com and coached the Boys East squad in the McDonald’s All-American Game. He was named Pinholster Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club in 1995 and 2003 and 5A Coach of the Year by the Georgia Sports Writers Association in 2003, 2005 and 2009.
Lipscomb’s teams have a record of 493-111 and have won 12 region titles, made eight trips to the state’s Final Four and have been nationally ranked by USA Today six times. Over 30 of Lipscomb’s players have earned Division 1 scholarships, and three, Sharif Abdur Rahim (Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Kings), Jamario Davidson (Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors) and J.J. Hickson (Cleveland Cavaliers), have played in the NBA.
Lipscomb led Wheeler to another state title in 2015, his 6th championships overall, and holds over 600 career victories. After the 2016-2017 season, Lipscomb stepped away from coaching but he’s not that far away. Lipscomb now has a podcast where instead of coaching, he talks about basketball and other related topics on “Real Life Basketball”.
Records
Father Ryan High School
Simpson has coached teams to 20 State Titles over his career thus far.
Pat Simpson
Father Ryan High School
Impact Statement
Simpson has coached teams to 20 State Titles over his career thus far.
Biography
A 1974 Father Ryan graduate, Simpson was a state runner-up as a senior, helping lead the Irish to a team state title. He returned to Father Ryan as head coach for the 1979-80 season, elevating an already-established sport to state powerhouse status.
In his 33 years on the bench, Simpson has led Father Ryan to 15 state team titles – seven dual titles and eight individual titles – and coached 59 individual state champions. The Irish picked up their 15th title this year in the Division 2 individual state meet. The school now owns almost as many state team titles in wrestling (19) as in all other sports combined (21). Simpson’s teams were Division 2 double champions in 1998 and 2000. His teams also won a Small Division dual title in 1989, a Large Division dual title in 1996 and Division 2 titles in 1999, 2004 and 2010, along with open individual titles in 1987 and 1988 and Division 2 crowns in 2003, 2008 and 2009.
The long-time assistant football coach teaches wellness and social science, and also recently became the school’s athletic director. A 1979 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) with a M.Ed. from Tennessee State University, Simpson was the Western Region champion and an NCAA qualifier in 1979.
A member of the Tennessee chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Simpson and his brother, Frank, the head coach at rival Montgomery Bell Academy, were part of the inaugural Hall of Fame class of the MTSU Wrestling Foundation earlier this year.
Since being honored in 2012, Simpson continues to lead Father Ryan.
Father Ryan’s team won another handful of state titles from 2014 until 2017. In 2016, Simpson was honored as the USA Today’s Coach of the Year and the NWCA Coach of the Year. Additionally, the team finished second in 2013 and 4th from 2018-2020.
Records
Professional Achievements
Severna Park High School
Shelton retired after 37 seasons with 20 State Champions, the most state titles by any coach in field hockey.
Lillian “Lil” Shelton
Severna Park High School
Impact Statement
Shelton retired after 37 seasons with 20 State Champions, the most state titles by any coach in field hockey.
Biography
Shelton’s 37th and final season concluded last fall with her 20th state championship, more than any other coach in National Federation high school history. Severna Park’s 3-1 victory over Bethesda-Chevy Chase High in the 4A final capped a 17-2 season and lifted Shelton’s final record to 544-60-10, with 31 Anne Arundel County and 29 regional titles.
She built those numbers despite Maryland being restricted to playing the shortest regular-season schedule in the United States – just 12 regular season games, plus one in-season tournament – the latter requiring Shelton’s lobbying efforts before the Maryland state legislature to be added to the schedule.
Shelton, who retired from teaching in 2000, started the county’s first program with sticks found in a broom closet, and was instrumental in the addition of youth leagues and Bermuda-grass fields to strengthen the sport. Shelton was named the Dita/National Field Hockey Coaches Association South Region Coach of the Year this season, and she also received national Coach of the Year honors from TopOfTheCircle.com and VarsitySportsNetwork.com.
In April of 2019, Severna Park High School dedicated the field hockey field in honor of Shelton and her commitment to the school and community.
Records
Professional Achievements
Barnstable High School
“There are pressure situations, and we’ve trained them for those situations. All you can do it set your goals and work to achieve those goals.” -Tom Turco
Tom Turco
Barnstable High School
Impact Statement
“There are pressure situations, and we’ve trained them for those situations. All you can do it set your goals and work to achieve those goals.” -Tom Turco
Biography
A graduate of Billerica Memorial High and Bridgewater State University, Turco has served as the Adapted Physical Education Teacher for the Barnstable Public Schools for 28 years.
His first team at Barnstable, in 1988, went just 5-11. Not only was that Turco’s only losing season, but his last 11 Red Raiders teams have a grand total of 12 losses. Last fall, he guided Barnstable to a 23-0 record – the Red Raiders’ ninth unbeaten season in his 24 years at the helm – as well as a second consecutive Division 1 state title, their eighth in nine seasons and 14th overall under his direction. His teams have a record of 528-52, and also have won 17 South Sectional championships.
Barnstable won six straight state titles from 2003-08, and from 2003-07, the Red Raiders won 110 consecutive matches, a state record. From 1995-98, Barnstable put together a 90-match winning streak and won four state titles in a row.
Turco was named National Co-Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in 2008 and was a finalist for PrepVolleyball.com Coach of the Year honors in 2007. Turco has coached three PrepVolleyball.com All-Americans, one AVCA All-American, seven Massachusetts Gatorade Players of the Year and 42 Boston Globe/Herald All-Scholastics selections. A five-time Boston Globe Division 1 Coach of the Year, Turco was inducted into the Massachusetts Girls Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004.
Since being honored in 2012, Turco continues to lead Barnstable. In 2018, Barnstable won it’s 19th State Championship, the most by any girls’ team in the state in any sport. Another milestone came in November of 2019. Turco and his Red Raiders won his 700th career victory.
Articles
Records
Professional Achievements
Gulliver Preparatory School
Schusterman made an impact to many after 39 years of coaching. He led Gulliver to six state championships and owns over 700 career victories.
Mark Schusterman
Gulliver Preparatory School
Impact Statement
Schusterman made an impact to many after 39 years of coaching. He led Gulliver to six state championships and owns over 700 career victories.
Biography
The second NHSCA National Coach of the Year from Gulliver Prep in as many years, Schusterman is a 32-year coaching veteran in five sports.
Schusterman has led the Raiders to five state championships, including the last three in a row. Gulliver Prep won 3A state titles in 1998, 2001, 2010 and 2011, becoming the first Miami-Dade County school to win back-to-back softball state titles, and finished second in state in 2007. The Raiders (27-5) moved up to 4A and made it three straight this season, and were 85-10 over that title run.
Named National Coach of the Year by ESPN Rise in 2011, Schusterman also became Gulliver Prep’s athletic director in 2007 after 13 years as athletic director at Gulliver Middle School, where he expanded the program by adding lacrosse, water polo, boys golf, and sixth-grade football and basketball.
A native of Atlantic City, N.J., Schusterman is a graduate of Florida International University. He began his coaching career in 1980 as an assistant basketball coach at Miami Killian High. He became the head basketball coach at Miami LaSalle High in 1984, moved to Gulliver Prep the next year as the boys basketball and cross country coach, and became the softball coach the following year. He was named Miami-Dade Male Coach of the Year, an all-sports award, by The Miami Herald in 2001.
Schusterman is the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) state softball chairman and is a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association softball advisory committee. He was inducted into the FACA Hall of Fame in 2009.
Since being honored, Schusterman continued to lead Gulliver’s softball program. In 2017, Schusterman was inducted into the FHSAA Hall of Fame. On March 17, 2018, he coached his team to his 700th career victory. Schusterman announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2019 season.
Records
Professional Achievements
Kee High School
Schultz retired after 43 years, 11 State titles and is the winningest baseball coach in the nation.
Gene Schultz
Kee High School
Impact Statement
Schultz retired after 43 years, 11 State titles and is the winningest baseball coach in the nation.
Biography
The nation’s all-time leading winner with a 1,675-353-1 record, Schultz, 65, begins his 43rd season in the dugout this summer for Kee, a consolidation of Lansing and New Albin schools with an enrollment of just 155 students in grades 9-12.
The native of Winona, Minn., an All-State football and basketball player, turned down a $2,000 bonus offer from the Washington Senators to attend college, eventually graduating from Winona State University. Schultz inherited a meager 10-game baseball schedule, which he quickly expanded to a 40-game slate. Schultz guided the Kee Hawks to the first of 11 state titles in 1973.
That team, which finished 47-0, is one of just 10 Iowa teams to complete an unbeaten season. Schultz is one of just four Iowa coaches to lead four consecutive state title teams (1989-92), a run that included a 59-game winning streak. His teams also won summer state titles in 1980, 1981, 1986 and 2005 and fall titles in 1977 and 1978, and finished second in state nine times, most recently last summer. That finish earned Schultz Class A Northeast District Coach of the Year honors from the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association, which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2006.
The National Federation of State High School Associations honored him as its National Coach of the Year in 2003. Schultz also was Kee’s boys basketball coach for 37 years, compiling a 367-389 record.
After being honored, Schultz coached for another two years before retiring after the 2014 season. With 45 years under his belt, he boasts 11 State Championships, 9 summer titles and 2 fall titles. He finishes with 1,754 victories and 398 defeats.
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Plymouth High School
“He finds a way to get the most out of his players and coaches each year without changing his approach to the game. It’s all about consistency.” T. Donahue, asst. coach
Chuck Lenahan
Plymouth High School
Impact Statement
“He finds a way to get the most out of his players and coaches each year without changing his approach to the game. It’s all about consistency.” T. Donahue, asst. coach
Biography
Lenahan, who is completing his 41st year at Plymouth as football coach and athletic director, built the Bobcats into a small-school football powerhouse. Under his guidance, Plymouth has won 18 Division 3 and 4 state titles, most recently in 2009, and he is the state’s all-time leading winner with a 334-69-1 record.
Last fall, Plymouth finished 9-2 and second in state – the Bobcats’ 11th runner-up finish in Lenahan’s tenure – and his teams have compiled 12 unbeaten seasons. Lenahan’s teams dominated the decade of the 2000s as few programs have anywhere. From 1997 through 2009, Plymouth finished 136-5 and won 12 state titles, and the run included two lengthy winning streaks.
After winning 46 straight from 2000-04 – then a state record – the Bobcats shattered that record following a 2004 loss. Plymouth won its next 57 games, a streak that ended in 2010. Three Plymouth senior classes in the decade – 2003, 2008 and 2009 – won every game in their four years on the varsity. The National Federation of State High School Associations honored Lenahan as its National Coach of the Year in 2005.
Lenahan retired at the completion of the 2013 season after 43 years at the helm as the winningest coach in New England. He led his team to their 20th State Championship, just the cherry on the top.