Garger named new Blue Devil head coach
Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136
CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Track & Field/Cross Country
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Fredonia State Director of Athletics Greg Prechtl has announced the appointment of Michael Garger as Head Coach of Track & Field and Cross Country.
“I was pleased,” Prechtl said, “that our search produced such a talented pool of qualified applicants and that Mike Garger emerged as the top choice of the selection committee. Mike’s commitment to track and field, his willingness to work long hours, and his ability to inspire young athletes to excel certainly came through loud and clear in his interview and in the testimonials provided by those for whom he has worked. We are excited to see Mike join our staff.”
Garger is coming to Fredonia State from Geneseo High School, where he has built a cross country and girls’ track and field dynasty. His boys’ and girls’ cross country teams were each 42-0 last season, including Section V championships for each, and are 381-95 over the last 13 seasons. His 2007 girls’ team won the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D championships, the first state team title in Geneseo High School history.
Meanwhile, the Geneseo girls’ track and field team won 13 straight Section V crowns, ending with the Class C championship Saturday, May 29. His boys’ team also took the Class C crown at the same meet.
“I never really set out to create a dynasty, but I did know that coaching is a passion of mine,” Garger told the Livingston County News in a story published May 27. “I have told people that I am not sure if I have ever had a bad day coaching. I knew I would out-work a lot of people because what others considered work I considered fun. I love crunching numbers and tweaking practice plans to fit each athlete. The scouting has always been a fun motivator for me.”
A native of Westchester County, Garger attended John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers, N.Y., where he excelled in distance running. He finished 12th as a sophomore, fifth as a junior, and eighth as a senior in the state Class B cross country championship meet. He moved on to SUNY Geneseo to study History and Secondary Education. Again, he made his mark as a distance runner for the Blue Knights. He broke the SUNY Geneseo indoor track 5,000-meter record and earned a place in the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame.
His first taste of coaching came in 1992 when he began a three-year stint as SUNY Geneseo assistant cross country coach. He landed a teaching job as a Secondary School Social Studies teacher in 1995 with the Geneseo Central School District. He was named head coach of the Geneseo High School cross country teams in 1996 and of the track and field teams in 1998. He also coached girls’ track and field for one season (1995) at Mount Morris High School.
In addition to the 2007 state title, Garger’s girls’ cross country teams at Geneseo have been Livingston/Genesee County League champs and Section V Class D champs from 2004 through 2009. His boys’ cross country teams have won the Livingston/Genesee County League title in 2004, 2007, and 2009 and the Section V title in 2004, 2005, and 2009. Both teams have been recognized annually as NYSPHAA Scholar-Athletes and he has numerous individuals win county, sectional, and state cross country medals.
In addition to the 13 straight girls’ track and field sectional team titles, Garger’s boys’ teams won sectional crowns in 1999, 2001, 2005, and 2010. Both teams are undefeated in league meets for over a decade. Like the cross country teams, his track teams have claimed NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete awards through his tenure. Altogether, Garger has guided 151 individuals and 20 relay teams to Section V championships since 1996. He also won a Section V girls’ team title during his one year at Mount Morris.
Garger and his wife, Carolyn, have three daughters -- Kennedy, MacKenzie, and Paige.
Garger will succeed Elizabeth Aldrich as the head coach of track and field, and Jeff Beck as the head coach of cross country. Aldrich and Beck served as interim head coaches the past two years, and each coached an NCAA Division III individual champion during that period. Then-senior Julia Hopson won the women’s 20-pound weight throw at the 2009 national indoor meet under Aldrich’s tutelage, while Beck guided junior Nick Guarino to NCAA D-III championships in the men’s mile in March and in the men’s 1,500 meters Saturday, May 29.
“I would like to thank,” Prechtl said, “Liz Aldrich and Jeff Beck for their work as interim head coaches of track and field and cross country, respectively. Their work in moving their programs forward on an interim basis is greatly appreciated.”