{"id":45686,"date":"2019-05-14T09:15:34","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T14:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=45686"},"modified":"2019-05-14T09:15:39","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T14:15:39","slug":"former-fhsu-trackster-becomes-hcc-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=45686","title":{"rendered":"Former FHSU trackster becomes HCC coach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Hutchinson CC Sports Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hutchinson Community College Athletic Department announced Monday that Robert Spies will become the new head coach of the Blue Dragon Track and Field program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director of Athletics Josh Gooch, another FHSU alum, made the announcement at an introductory news conference Monday at the Sports Arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spies will officially take the program over July 1. Hall of Fame Blue Dragon head coach Pat Becher announced his retirement earlier this season after 34 seasons. Becher’s official last day is June 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spies becomes just the fifth head coach of the Blue Dragon men’s program and just the third head coach of the women’s program at Hutch CC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is an exciting day for the future of Blue Dragon Track and Field,” Gooch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is a great time, not just for myself, but my family,” Spies said. “I know that there are very, very, very big shoes to fill. I’ve known Coach Becher for a very long time. I’m going to do my best to keep things going.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Hutchinson, Spies has guided four other collegiate track and field programs and has had success at each stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to Hutchinson, Spies was the head coach at McPherson College. Starting at McPherson in 2013, Spies produced 75 NAIA national qualifiers and 33 NAIA All-Americans. He coached one NAIA national champion, 73 conference champions, 92 all-KCAC performers and more than 60 school records fell in his tenure with the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 2011 to 2013, Spies was the head coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg. At Bethany, Spies’ teams produced eight NAIA national qualifiers, three All-Americans, 13 conference champions, 58 all-conference performers and 10 school records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spies isn’t a stranger to the Jayhawk Conference. From 2007 to 2010, he was the head coach at Fort Scott Community College. While at Fort Scott, Spies mentored three NJCAA All-Americans, nine NJCAA national qualifiers, 36 all-Jayhawk East performers and 34 school records fell in those four seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spies started coaching at Pittsburg State University as an assistant in 2006 and 2007. With the Gorillas, Spies coached eight NCAA All-Americans, one NCAA national runner-up, 10 national qualifiers, six conference champions and 18 all-conference performers and five school records fell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spies was named the KCAC Coach of the Year three times (2016, 2017 and 2018). He was also the McPherson College Coach of the Year in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One of the things that was appealing to me about Hutch was the continuity \u2026 not in just the athletic department but around the campus,” Spies said. “Gowans Stadium is a nice selling point. When you can bring a kid in and tell them we host nationals here, that’s a really nice selling point. I like to have a stadium.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While at Pittsburg State, Spies was also the Student Fitness Facility Supervisor. Before that, from 2001 to 2004, Spies was the Strength and Conditioning coach at Virginia Military Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spies ran collegiately at Fort Hays State University. He was a four-time NCAA Division II All-American, a 12-time conference champion in both the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. While at Fort Hays State, Spies was ranked 14th in the world in the 60 meters, clocking a time of 6.57 seconds during his senior year. He has also competed at the USA National Championship level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spies completed a bachelor’s degree in childhood development with a minor in recreation from Pittsburg State. He earned a master’s degree in human health performance and recreation with an emphasis in sport and leisure management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert and his wife, Ermelinda, have two children, Davian and Sofia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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