Home of the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association
You can find more information about our Association, the Hall of Fame, Coach of the Year, our coaches handbook, and more.
Congratulations to our 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees
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Doug started his cross-country journey prior to his junior year at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School after much encouragement from my older brother Jon. Those two years of running were transformative and led him to a career as a high school science teacher and coach after graduating from the University of Washington.
Doug’s career began under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Cliff Nixon at Interlake high school in 1990 where he served as an assistant coach during his student teaching assignment. Doug then spent six years at Hoquiam High School before settling down at South Whidbey High School in 1997.
Doug’s experience in Hoquiam was highlighted by teaching and coaching many talented athletes. Two of note were Miguel Galeana, a five-time state champion in cross country and track and field and an All-American in the steeplechase at Montana State as well as Dameon Marlow who has led the White River program for the past twenty years with great success.
At South Whidbey, Doug took over a girls’ program founded by Hall of Fame coach Carl Westling and very successful boys coach, Tim Gordon. Those coaches along with longtime middle school coach Jack Terhar laid the foundation which enabled the South Whidbey program to have the success that Doug continued to build on.
During the past 34 years, Doug has been a part of many great cross country and track and field teams and worked with a number of outstanding assistant coaches, including Steve Siders, Dean Hatt, Rosie Donnelly, Shauna Davies, Mark Eager, Kathy Rodgers, Scott Warwick and Joe Humrickhouse. Twenty-five of our teams qualified for the state cross country championships, with 6 top 4 podium finishes in cross country and 6 podium finishes in track and field including the 2003 State title. These teams also earned 32 league/district XCX and TF titles and numerous individual titles.
Doug also served on the WSCCCA executive board for the past thirty years working with a dedicated group of coaches including: Tom Campbell, Steve Bertrand, Mark Cullen, Joe Clark, Bruce McDowell, Phil English, Kevin Ryan and Jeff Hashimoto among others.
Doug states that “Cross Country teaches young athletes, like myself all those years ago, many important life lessons which help guide us throughout life. I am grateful I chose this path all those years ago. Since retiring from teaching, I have returned to competitive masters running and still feel the same excitement of racing as I did in my youth."
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Jon didn’t plan on being a coach, but after his first year of teaching, the cross country position at North Central opened up and the rest is history. Jon got his start as a high school athlete where he had a lot of success. He was on the podium all three years in cross country, finishing 4th as a sophomore, and then 2nd as a junior and senior when his teams won the state title, coached by hall of Fame member Herm Caviness. Jon was also on the US junior World team that finished 3rd in xc. His track career was equally notable, including state titles in the 1600 and 3200 at the first Star Track at Lincoln Bowl. After high school Jon ran for Montana before moving to run for Coach Jon Chaplin at WSU for three years. After college he went to work as a teacher at North Central High School where he has coached and taught his entire career.
While at North Central Jon had an amazing run. His boys teams were dominant. Jon wants to thank an amazingly supportive spouse and equally amazing staff of coaches and volunteers for what they were able to accomplish at North Central. From 2006-2016 they won 11 3A state titles. In addition, they finished 2nd in 2004, 2005, and 2018, and 3rd in 2017 and 2019. During those years they had 3 individual winners. Ben Johnston won in 2009, Tanner Anderson took the title in 2013 and 2014 and then Justin Janke won in 2015. North Central also won the always tough Greater Spokane League Champions 10 years during that span. Jon is quick to note that he was surrounded by a number of outstanding assistants, particularly his core group of Len Long, Lori Wordell, JC Hodgson, Dick Baker.
North Central was also very successful on the regional and national stage. During these years, North Central (running in the postseason as North Spokane) won 7 Nike Northwest Regional titles during the years 2007-2014, 1 Nike National title in 2008, and finished 3rd at Nike Nationals twice in 2012 & 2014. In addition, they had two individual Nike National Champions, Kai Wilmot in 2023 and Tanner Anderson in 2014. In 2008 Jon received the National Federation of State High School Associations Sectional Coaches Award.
One of the things Jon is most proud of is his team's commitment to service. From 2000 to 2020 North CentralXC volunteered about 300 hours each year thinning trees at Riverside State Park where they frequently trained, with the annual Spokane River Cleanup, and with the Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant, a local food pantry.
Jon would also like to thank his wife Janet and children Katie and Henry for their love and support.
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Gene spent most of his time as the head coach at two schools--Hart High School in Santa Clarita, CA (11 years), and Medical Lake HS in WA (15 years). He was a volunteer or an assistant coach part of the time at West Valley, University, and Central Valley high schools as well.
In 1981 Gene started coaching cross country, and distance runners in track, at Canyon High School in California. He had been working as a Park Director in the L.A. Parks & Rec department for about 20 years at that time and he was asked to help out during the summer by three high school athletes because their coach was retiring.
Gene ran track and cross country for Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, CA. where he set a school record on their cross country course. In 1960 he also broke the school half mile and mile records. Ironically, the mile record had been set before he was born and had lasted 18 years but his 4:35.1 record was broken the very next year. That was back when tracks were covered with loose dirt or cinder. Gene then ran at El Camino Jr. College and his team were the XC team State Champs in 1961.
At Hart H.S. in California, the boys won 11 League Championships, 3 Sectional Championships and were the California State Champions three years in a row. They also received a #1 National ranking from Harrier Magazine. The girls also had 11 League Championships. During his time at Medical Lake, the boys had 5 League Championships and also had 3 State Championships. In 2022 they had the individual state champion, Reid Headrick. The girls’ best team performances at State were 2nd in 2021 and 3rd in 2022. At the time of his induction, his boys’ teams qualified for State for the last 13 years with podium finishes 9 times and three more for the girls.
Gene has received a number of awards including The Great Northern League 2006. The NEA League Coach of the Year for 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022 and The WSCCCA Coach of the Year in 2013 & 2017. USTFCCCA recognized him in 2014. He was also inducted into the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational Hall of Fame in 2008.
His happiest memories are from the 2013 and 2014 State meets. He thanks all of his assistant coaches over the years for their hard work and dedication as well as all of the runners. He considers himself to have been fortunate to have had so many talented and dedicated runners!
Another favorite all-time running memory happened in Los Angeles in 1984 when he was asked to organize and provide aid stations for the first Women’s Olympic Marathon. Gene was in the entry tunnel to the track on the stadium floor when our American runner Joan Benoit ran by him and won.
CONVENTION INFORMATION
Here you can find links to the presentations from the 2025 WSTFCA/WSCCCA Convention
2024
Coaches of the Year
Assistant Coach of the Year
Dawn Hudak Chamberlain- Tenino
Kevin Gudgel- Burlington-Edison
BOYS
4A: Michael Lee- Lewis and Clark
3A: Susan Empey-Mercer Island
2A: Kevin Ryan-Sehome
1A: Andy Gist- Cedar Park Christian
2B: Graeme Schroeder-Cle Elum-Roslyn
1B: Michael Drick- Valley Christian
GIRLS
4A: Adam Frye- Mt Si
3A: Susan Empey-Mercer Island
2A: Kevin Ryan-Sehome
1A: Andy Gist- Cedar Park Christian
1B/2B: Karissa Beckman-Rainier
Middle School Coach of the Year
Annette Wolf- Evergreen Middle School
President’s Service Award
Dean Taylor
The Ruston Family Foundation
The Ruston Family Foundation is a non-profit that works to promote the sport of Cross Country in Washington State high schools. By promoting Cross Country, we can create immense benefits for all young people.
2024 All-State Team
The Top 50 Times from the State Meet make up the All-State Team
WSCCCA Scholarship
Each year, several scholarships are awarded to exceptional senior cross-country athletes who demonstrate excellence in academics, athletics, and community involvement. These scholarships honor athletes who show outstanding sportsmanship, integrity, and a commitment to the sport.
Coaches are encouraged to nominate deserving senior runners based on their contributions to cross-country and their positive impact on the community.
Welcome to the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association website, your resource for all things related to cross country in the state.
The Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association is a branch of the Washington State Coaches Association.
Our goal is to support the coaches and sport of high school cross country in Washington State.
Cross Country Polls
Weekly rankings of teams across the state by gender and classification.
LAST LAP
We have an opportunity to inspire our athletes through the new short documentary LAST LAP!
LAST LAP tells the story of Doris Brown Heritage, a Washington state cross country pioneer who began her journey running barefoot on the beach, setting the pace for generations of women athletes.
Awards & Honors
The WSCCCA honors coaches every year for each classification and gender with our Coach of The Year Honors. We also maintain a Hall of Fame, host the Washington Senior All-Star Race, award scholarships, and work with the Washington State Track & Field Coaches with their annual convention. Our association relies on dues and donations to fund our awards and scholarships. Several camps, races, and invitational meets have made generous donations to support the association and are listed below. To join the WSCCCA, visit the Washington State Coaches Association website here.
Hall of Fame
We will be celebrating this year’s Hall of Fame inductees at the WSTFCA/WSCCCA Convention January 24th and 25th, 2025
Senior All-Star Scholarships
The Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association is proud to have been able to provide thousands of dollars in scholarships to cross country athletes over the last 30 years. These scholarships are not based on any athletic standards and do NOT jeopardize your NCAA eligibility.
2022 Edition Cross Country History
Rod Wilcox has updated an exhaustive historical perspective of Washington State XC. For stat buffs out there, this 40+ page document is loaded with all sorts of information.
Become a Member and make a difference
Contact
Have questions? Contact us!
Email
wsccca@gmail.com