Boys' cross country coach of the year

RON PAYTON

WOODLAND PARK

Years coaching: 25

Years at school: 8

Reason behind coaching: A recreational runner who enjoyed marathons, he started coaching while teaching.

Day job: Retired (31 years teaching history/English)

Family: Son (Andrew, 23) and daughter (Julianne, 20)

Hometown: Prescott, Wis.

Alma mater: University of Wisconsin — River Falls

Favorite moments as a coach: Watching his Sierra girls’ team set the state record in the 3,200-meter relay and leading the Panthers to state after starting the season ranked seventh of nine teams in the region (top five advance).

Easiest way to find your doghouse: “When you see a kid that’s not working as hard as he can — he’s cheating himself and his teammates. That’s frustrating, but luckily it doesn’t happen too often in cross country.”

Key to winning: “It’s about the group of kids you have. At the beginning of the season, it didn’t look like it would be a great year for us, but the kids wanted to make (state) and they worked hard enough.”

From a player’s eyes: “He’s really positive with new runners and he knows how to get you ready for a varsity meet. He taught me about the mentality of running and how to do what it takes. And he’s just a lot of fun.” — Eric Dernbach, senior