By Mackenzie Madison
<[email protected]>

Chuck Koeppen retired after over 30 years of coaching both track and cross-country here last year. This season, Will Ellery is stepping in to take his place.

Joseph “Joe” Rippe, varsity track runner and senior, said he thinks Ellery is qualified to be head coach in place of Koeppen. “Ellery was my coach two years ago; he knows what he’s doing, he’s a really good replacement. He just has a lot of good qualities a head coach should have. He’s purely business when he needs to be,” Rippe said.

Although Rippe said he is excited to have Ellery as a head coach, he also said he will miss Koeppen. He said, “ I loved Koeppen, he was just a fun guy to be around all the time.”

“We’re not trying to do things differently, we’re just trying to build on the strong foundation that was already here,” Ellery said. Although Ellery said he is trying to keep changes to a minimum, if any at all, he said he has started videotaping the team to help the runners improve on their technique or issues they would not be aware of otherwise.

“We have five video managers who film practices,” he said. “They take what they flim and give it to the event coaches and they review it at home, but sometimes with our athletes as well.”

Ellery said the competition in the MIC conference is tough and the main focus the team will be the State meet in June. “In order to succeed we have to compete against the teams in our conference. For example, the top three teams in the State meet last year were from our conference.”

Rippe said he has an understanding of Ellery’s fellings about State. “(Ellery) expects a lot out of us to place well at State,” he said.

“The difference with track is you’re not competing against another team the way you do in other team sports,” Ellery said. You are just competing to achieve your best time, your best height, your best distance and that is a different type of competition really.”

“It is a lot of responsibility,” Ellery said. “But we’re just trying to build on the things Carmel has stood for, and that’s a tradition of excellence.”