Two longtime Montgomery County cross country coaches retired from the sport after Saturday's DC-MD Private Schools State Championship. Gary Wyatt is walking away after his St. Andrew's Episcopal girls team won its third consecutive state title in the small schools classification, and Tom Arnold of Good Counsel High School announced his retirement after his boys team came up short in its quest for a fourth consecutive state title.

Arnold is a coaching legend in this region. For three decades he commanded respect from his opponents and the media because his teams were always at or near the top of the standings within the WCAC, at major invitationals and other championship meets. He is universally loved by athletes who have competed under him - at least those athletes who made it through the program without quitting or getting booted off the team. Athletes always describe him as disciplined yet hilarious, brash and caring all at the same time. After 30 years at Good Counsel High School plus four previous years at Chapel Hill High School, Arnold decided it was time to walk away.

"I've thought about it, about retiring, for the last few years," said Arnold. "Last year probably a third of the way through the season, I made the decision that last year was going to be my last. My athletic director laughed at me when I said that because he didn't think I'd ever retire. Some people think I'm just going to die on the cross country course which I had kind of thought I might do one day. By the end of the season I had changed my mind and thought I'd stick around for one more year this year. It felt like the time was right."

He said that he planned to tell his runners in a team meeting back at the school on Monday, but while he was thanking seniors in a grassy spot after the awards ceremony on Saturday, he decided to make his announcement. The news surely dropped like a bombshell, but he said that he never wanted to make the season or any internal or external attention about him. He assured everyone that he is healthy and happy and he will continue working for Good Counsel High School as the Dean of Students and chemistry teacher. The decision on his coaching successor will be entirely up to the Athletic Department at Good Counsel.

Compared to Arnold, Gary Wyatt received far less media attention during his 36 consecutive years of coaching cross country at St. Andrew's Episcopal School, but it seems like he prefers it that way.

"I was trying to get out of here without all this," Wyatt said shortly after meet director Ted Findler acknowledged Wyatt's retirement in front of everyone at the awards ceremony.

It was the path he chose by starting a cross country program from nothing at a tiny private school without a track in 1981. He was a young man and a strong athlete: a 4:11 and 9:11 high school miler/two miler at TC Williams High School and a firsthand witness to the racial integration depicted in the movie "Remember the Titans." After collegiate performances of 3:49 1500m, 8:54 steeple, and 14:53 5k, he landed a teaching gig at tiny St. Andrew's Episcopal School. In the same year that "Chariots of Fire" was released, Wyatt got St. Andrew's running with a new coed cross country team (boys and girls were then scored together as a single team).

The program experienced early success, first in the PVAC where the Lions won four consecutive titles in the mid-80's. Recently, the St. Andrew's girls team won nine out of the last thirteen small schools state titles including its third straight on Saturday. But probably his fondest memory was winning the ISL title in 2005 against schools three times larger.

Wyatt is retiring from both coaching and teaching.

"It's time to move on after 36 years," he said. "My sister has been the assistant coach. She is actually taking over. And then Yaa Warren who ran for me - she was on the '05 team - she's taking over also. So it's in good hands."





Montgomery County private schools took the top three positions in the boys small schools classification with St. Andrew's taking third, Jewish Day School taking second, and The Heights School taking home the small schools state title.

Jewish Day School believed that they would be in the hunt for the title and were disappointed to come up short.

"Huge credit to the Heights," said JDS Head Coach Jason Belinkie. "They ran an amazing race. They're clearly peaking at the right time."

Belinkie said that the race was already in place for The Heights through the first mile, and even if all of his runners had great races, The Heights was just too solid. JDS will return five of its top six next year.

The Heights School coach Justin Meyers said that all of his runners had perfect races and set PR's on a pretty challenging course. In addition to running for PR's, the Heights in red was picking out JDS in blue in a true tactical team race.

"We knew that Jewish Day School is very good this year," said Meyers. "...We had the guys that they knew that they had to beat and all of our guys more or less were able to do what they were supposed to."

MAC champion Luke Armbruster from St. Andrew's School may have been vying for the small schools individual title, but by all accounts he ran sick. William Jones of St. Maria Goretti won the small schools classification in 15:58 while Dalton Hengst of McDonogh won the overall race in 15:29.

Page Lester of National Cathedral School won the girls title in 17:59 which was announced as a meet and course record during the awards ceremony.

A Meet in Flux