Interview, Conrad Crist, Head Coach, Fort Collins HS, Colorado
MileSplit national will be periodically publishing standard written interviews with the head coaches of many of the top U.S. high school track and field teams. This interview is with Conrad Crist, head coach of Fort Collins High School, Colorado’s annual national force in track & field.
Send nominations (team, head coach, email address) of other “Top U.S. T&F teams” to lknudson@milesplit.com.
School, location (city, state) – Fort Collins High School, Fort Collins, Colorado
Team (boys, girls, both) – both
Head Coach – Conrad Crist
Assistant Coaches – Chris Suppes, Tom Waido, Laurie Rice, Brandon Ribble, Stacy Burke, Adam Felkey, Ken Brunk, Pete Thrasher, Craig Luckasen, Van Elsbernd
Strongest Events – sprints, distance, hurdles, jumps, sprint relays
Top (national level) athletes; name, grade, events/PR’s –
Boys:
Raymond Bozmans, 12, 100m:10.41, 200m:20.87, 400m: 47.94
Jake Hanks, 11, Shot Put: 57'7"
Stephen Palmier, 12, Long Jump: 22'7.75", Triple Jump: 46'7"
Griffin Hay, 12, 3200m: 9:37.18 (Fort Collins is at 5,000ft of elevation)
Girls:
Katie Weber,12, 300m hurdles: 44.11, 200m:25.36
Erin Hooker, 11, 3200m: 11:07.52 (Fort Collins is at 5,000ft of elevation)
Monica Franco, 12, High Jump: 5'7", 100m High Hurdles: 15.12
Top (national level) relay teams; events, PR’s –
Boys 4x200m Relay, 1:28.22 so far in 2012, 1:27.53 in 2011
Boys 4x100m Relay, 42.80 so far in 2012, 41.81 in 2011
Girls 4x200m Relay, 1:44.24 in 2012
Girls 800m Medley, 1:50.08 in 2012
Key(s) to the success of your team – Recruiting kids out of our own school to create the largest team possible. This season our team started the year at 160 students. Our school population is 1,630 students. Therefore we have roughly 10% of our student population on the track team. We have 11 coaches which allows us to give more personal attention to each student-athlete. Our team supports each other. We have fun and work hard! Collaborative coaching atmosphere where we constantly converse about athletes and plans for each meet. This allows us to move students around in different events and generate a team plan for everything we do.
Your favorite meet(s) –Liberty Bell Invite, Runners Roost of Fort Collins Invite
Teams you most enjoy competing against –Loveland High School girls team, Arapahoe High School, Heritage High School, Fountain Fort Carson High School, Thompson Valley High School, Littleton High School
Team goals for the season – Get over 150 kids out for track (accomplished). City Champions (accomplished on 4/17). Conference Champions. Qualify over 30 kids for the state track meet. State Champions (boys are currently ranked 1st in state and girls are ranked 4th).
Thank you Coach Crist. Good luck to you and your team this season.