The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Assoication (USTFCCCA) named Warwick's Alex Daecher girls' coach of the year and State College's Artie Gilkes boys' coach of the year for the 2019 outdoor track and field season in Pennsylvania.
Both coaches earned PTFCA coach of the year honors last month. Now the pair adds more hardware to their mantle.
Daecher, in his final season, guided Warwick to the PIAA Class AAA state crown on the girls' side. The Warriors racked up 44 points at the PIAA State Championships, 15 points ahead of second place North Penn, to take the team win.
Warwick used great sprint depth to run to the title. Despite not taking home a gold medal individually or with a relay, the Warriors still handily won the PIAA team crown in AAA.
Gilkes, in his first season at the helm of State College, had it all come together resulting in the program's first PIAA Class AAA state title since 2016. The Little Lions scored 47 points to hold off strong challenges from Coatesville and Central Dauphin East.
State College had a pair of individual champions in Lance Hamilton and Luke Knipe, and showed off strong depth in a variety of disciplines en route to the team win.
How did each team win state titles in the PIAA? We broke it all down last month here. Check out the full list of USTFCCCA coaches of the year by state here.