Patrick Garst Wins USTFCCCA Girls Track & Field Coach of The Year


From start to finish Dunlap was the best team in 2A and possibly in the entire state. After finishing out of the team medal round in 2016, head coach Pat Garst rallied his troopettes for a killer bee attack in 2017. The Eagles did not disappoint as they scored 78 points to take down three-time defending champion Cahokia. Dunlap was a rare breed team winning all the track and field: all four relays, scored in the field, scored in the distance arena, and tallied big points in individual sprints.

NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday the state-by-state winners of its fourth annual High School Coach of the Year award for track & field.

Started in 2014, the award is bestowed to selected coaches based on a number of criteria: their teams' finishes at their respective state championships, the number of different events in which athletes were qualified, individual championships and how their teams' performances stack up to previous years, among other criteria.

One boys coach and one girls coach from each state - and the District of Columbia - is selected.

Each honoree will receive a trophy from the USTFCCCA recognizing his or her achievements.

As a bonus, the winners from each state are now in consideration for the USTFCCCA's National High School Track & Field Coach of the Year Award. One boys coach and one girls coach will be chosen by a panel of experts and those names will be announced later this month.