By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
He has been a running enthusiast forever.
Former Catholic Central track coach Keith Mulhollon, 44, enjoyed a banner 2014 with the Toppers last spring.
For his efforts, he was recently named this newspaper’s 2014 Coach of the Year, an award that considers coaches from Burlington, Catholic Central, Waterford and Union Grove high schools.
Along with his wife, Beth, Keith’s passion for the sport of running has improved the area for years.
They started the Badgerland Running Company in Lake Geneva back in 2009. Though it’s no longer there, Keith’s intentions were sincere, according to a Lake Geneva Regional News article.
“We’re here to make the community healthier,” he said. “We want people to have a place to come and run. It’s tough to get motivated sometimes by yourself. We also want to eventually have an outstanding track and cross country program.”
After coaching running in the Lake Geneva area, Keith took over the Catholic Central program a few years back.
Last season’s track performance may have been his finest hour as a coach, as the Lady Toppers captured four medals at the state track meet in June at UW-La Crosse.
Recently, Keith left Catholic Central and is pursuing other opportunities in northern Wisconsin.
Ken Mulhollon and Corey Nevin, who have been assistants under Keith since 2011, will take over the Catholic Central program.
In an e-mail Monday, Keith expressed his thoughts on winning coach of the year.
“Its an honor to receive this since there are a lot of really great coaches in our area that put in a great deal of time to make their programs successful,” Keith said. “I am very proud of all the athletes and their bodies of work for 2014.”
The biggest reason Keith won the award his work with the Catholic Central girls track stars this past summer.
Despite lightning delays at state, which caused action to last past 10 p.m. both Friday and Saturday nights, the Lady Toppers snatched four medals, including a second, third and two sixth-place finishes.
The Toppers saved their best for last. The 1,600 relay team of Cassie Reesman, Shelby Frederick, Alexis Reesman and Kathleen Straube almost brought home state gold.
Catholic Central took second in Division 3 in a time of 4:05.36, falling by a mere .56 seconds to champion Wild Rose.
The 3,200 relay team of the Reesmans, Kourtney Mulhollon and Straube put together its best race of the season, taking third place with a time of 9:55.80.
The squad improved on last season’s 8th-place state finish.
The 400 and 800 relay teams, which both consisted of Frederick, Monica Litman, Kellie Aldrich and Brianna Martin, both placed sixth.
Keith assures Topper Nation that the future is bright.
State gold may be on the horizon.
“Overall, it was a good year,” Mulhollon said in June. “We bring back just about everyone, which is exciting. These athletes work hard and are extremely motivated to achieve their goals. As a head coach, I could not be more proud of them all.”
Keith’s dedication to the sport goes beyond the cross country trails and the track.
He truly stands out as one of those coaches that would do it for free with no questions asked.
“What made us successful was that we are all committed to the same goal,” Keith said.
The USA Track and Field certified coach may not be in the area anymore, but somehow, somewhere, he and Beth are running.
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