LANCASTER, Ohio — Soaked brown locks of a young runner’s hair bounce, then weave off the side of the track after finishing what must have felt like a marathon. His legs wobble like a newborn fawn and his tired eyes search for comfort as his chest pounds and sweat drips onto his distinguished, golden singlet. The word “Gales” is displayed proudly on his chest in navy blue.

His trembling legs and rampant breathing are soon met by a comforting voice and a lending hand. Someone who has been in his exact shoes.

“Not bad for training for only a few weeks, you are outrunning people already.”

This young runner is not the star of the team. He did not win the race. The scene takes place on a purple indoor track in small Logan, Ohio on a bitter February day. It isn’t the championships. It is a Wednesday night. Yet this young man decided to come run and leave his heart out on the track.

The reencouraging words he hears are those of Lancaster Golden Gales boys track and cross country head coach Jeff Koksal.

A distinguished runner in his own right, Koksal has been trying to impart his knowledge about track onto the young men of Lancaster since taking over the program in 2009.

But running, jumping, and throwing are just a small part of what Koksal wants to teach. It only takes moments around the team to realize that the main message is that of kindness.

“It doesn’t matter if you are the star or the slowest person on the team Coach K is going to treat you the same,” says senior distance runner Noah Johnson. “He really is more than a coach to us. I feel like I can go to him for anything.”

Assistant coach Dave Comer has been with the team since his retirement in 2018.

“I owe a lot of what I have learned, not just about track, but about life to him over the past three years. He has a genuine care for everyone on the team.”

Beyond kindness, Coach Koksal wants his athletes to understand the pressure and how to overcome adversity.

“We try to put them in high-pressure situations so that they learn to get through it, that isn’t just a track lesson, that is a life lesson,” says Koksal.

There are certainly more important things in life than learning how to be a good athlete. There are more important things in life than winning.

But that doesn’t mean the Golden Gales of Lancaster High School hasn’t had the fair share of success on the track or in cross country, both historically and under the helm of Koksal.

The rich history of track and cross country success at Lancaster gives the current roster something to strive towards explains Koksal.

So when Noah Johnson, or triplets Kaiden, Isaiah, and Trevor Lanoy toe the line for the boys 3200-meter, they aren’t just chasing the ones in front of them, or qualifying times for state, they are chasing the likes of John Zishka and his 8:49 mark set in 1979. They are running after Brannon Kidder and his 4:03 mile set in 2012.

The “Gales” across their chest is the same one garnished by the State Championship track team of 1980.

The Lancaster Boys Track and Field team has plenty of eager hopefuls ready to put their name among the greats for the Golden Gales and add the year 2021 to their already plentiful banner of team championships.

Coming off of an Ohio Capital Conference and District Championship in cross country, followed by an 11th place finish at state, the distance runners bring experience and grit to the squad now competing in indoor track for preparation for the spring outdoor season.

“We do indoor because it is fun, we want the kids to enjoy it, but we also want to be able to put them in pressure situations so that they learn how to perform,” says Koksal.

And perform they have. Several of the Gales are ranked in the state and have a chance to qualify for this year’s OATCCC Indoor Finale held in early March. There the athletes have the opportunity to earn All-State honors.

Distance runners Noah Johnson, Kaiden, Trevor, and Isaiah Lanoy sit just outside of the needed 24th spot to gain entry in the boys 3200m state meet, but are currently all in the top 50 in the indoor rankings for Division I (10:07, 9:59, 10:03, 10:06).

Adam Criser is in the top fifty in both the 1600-meter and 800-meter (4:38, 2:05), and Eli Rathburn currently ranked 20th in the 60-meter sprints (7.22).

Throwers Nathan Bogan and Cameron Black sit in the top ten and will likely make the trip to Geneva’s SPIRE Institute for the finale in the weight throw (58-0, 55-1). Teammates Anthony Smith and Trent Harp are also in the hunt to make state (48-11, 41-1).

Anthony Smith may join with his top twenty ranking in the shot put (45-5.5). Bogan is on the cuffs in this event as well currently sitting in the 22nd spot (44-10).

Finishing out the field competitors is high jumper Logen Justice (22th) and Holden Arnold (30th).

Pole vaulters Brody Eborn (34th), Daniel Edwards, and Lukas Lang (T-36th), all hope to make the trip Geneva to compete in the state competition as well.

Although they are chasing legends, bonded by kindness, and forged under pressure, the Gales team is not without talent going into spring and finishing out the indoor track season. Koksal hopes the team’s success in cross country and indoor track carry into the OCC league competition for the outdoor season. But win or lose the Golden Gales’ athletes are sure to have a reassuring hand at the end of the line, and lessons to learn from their coach that far exceed track.

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