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COACH COY
Whitnee and Jesse's Wedding - Family -5_BW.jpg
E: coachjessecoy@gmail.com
P: 605.645.9820
T: @coachjcoy

 

Hello. 

My name is Jesse Coy and I am the Head Cross Country coach at Rapid City Stevens High School.  This is my 18th year of coaching Cross Country and my 12th  with the Runnin' Raiders.  In the spring I am an assistant coach with the track team and in the summer I operate Rapid City Distance which introduces kids to cross country.

Family & Background. 

My wife, Whitnee and I were married in the summer of 2023 and I have two wonderful children, Ben and Elouise with another on the way.  My son Ben is very much into music and is the drummer for The Rathco.  Elouise loves jokes, crafts and board games.  

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As a youth, I grew up in Hill City as one of five siblings.  Both of my brothers have been heavily involved with the sport.  Matt was a very successful coach in Beresford, SD and Andy was a multiple-time All American and 1,000m Indoor National Champion in college. 

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Things I Do.   
My favorite thing to do outside of work is being with my family.  Camping is probably our favorite activity, but anything with them is special. 

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As for hobbies,  I like to all of the things every other introvert does.  My favorites being reading, studying and learning about training, physiology, psychology and other concepts related to endurance training and teams.  I've also done a little writing on endurance training for Stack.com and published RUNsodak magazine for a few years.   Right now, I spend most of my free-time doing stuff with my website/social media accounts at Coaching Distance.  

Athletics.  

In high school, I was a multi-sport athlete, competing in cross country, football, basketball and track and field in Hill City.  While running for the Rangers, I was able to be a part of a state championship 4x800 relay team along with a state champion track team.  I love track.  

After high school, I ran cross country and track at Jamestown College, USD and finally at BHSU.  I was a fairly ordinary runner, so my favorite memories stem from being part of great teams, including the 4x800m relay for BHSU that placed 7th at the 2003 Indoor NAIA National Meet and the 2003 Cross Country team that was recently inducted into the BHSU Hall of Fame.

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I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been coached by Rollie Greeno, Scott Munsen and Scott Walkinshaw; all Hall of Fame members at their respective institutions. 

Coaching. 

My first position was in Mission, SD at the Todd County School District where I was an assistant coach for two years until a coaching job opened up in Hill City.  I coached four years in Hill City before moving onto my current position here at Stevens High School.  I enjoy coaching, the work that goes into each season and the people involved in the sport. 

Certifications/Education. 

  • Chadron State College

    • Masters in Education; Curriculum & Instruction

      • Emphasis in Physical Education

  • Black Hills State University

    • Bachelors in Education; K-8 Elementary Education

  • USATF 

    • Level I Certified Coach

    • Principles of Endurance Training

    • Training Science 

    • SafeSport Core Training

  • USTFCCA 

    • Technical Certification

  • NASM 

    • Youth Exercise Specialist

  • NFHS/NSCA

    • HS Strength & Conditioning

  • ALTIS

    • Essentials Certificate

    • Coaching Endurance Certificate

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Coaching Highlights & Stats

3- Boys Cross Country State Championships (2008, 2021, 2022)
3- Girls Cross Country State Championships (2013, 2014, 2022)
5- Combined State Cross Country Championships ('12, '13, '21, '22, 23')
7- State Champion 4x800m Relays (08B 09G 11G 14G 15G 15B 21B) 
11- NHSACA All-Americans (Cross Country and Track) * updated 10/23

52- "Top 25" All-State XC (combined AA, A & B) *updated 10/23
191- Individual State Meet Podium Finishes in Cross Country/Track & Field (400,800,1600,3200,5k) *updated 10/23
 

National Rankings (Event Groups)

MileSplit Girls 800m #14 US (2014)
MileSplit Girls 800m #27 US (2015) 
MileSplit Girls 800m #30 US (2013) 

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National Championships

2022- Nike Nationals Medley

2022- Simeon Birnbaum- Brooks PR Mile 

2023- Simeon Birnbaum- Hoka Mile

2023- Simeon Birnbaum- Brooks PR 3200m

2023- Simeon Birnbaum- Nike Nationals Mile

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NXN/Footlocker Cross Country National Finalists

2010- Tamara Gorman (NXN)

2022- Simeon Birnbaum (Footlocker & NXN)

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Top 10 All-Time S.D. Track & Field
800 Meters-

Simeon Birnbaum #1 1:47.96 (2023) 

 

1600 Meters- 

Brionna Holso       #9 4:57.70 (2023) 

Kendra Dykstra      #8  4:58.27  (2016) 

Simeon Birnbaum  #1  3:57.53 (* Mile- 2023) 
 

3200 Meters-  

Simeon Birnbaum #1 8:34.10 (2023) * (NFHS National Record) 

Tamara Gorman    #4  10:42.5  (2014) 
                       
4x800 Relay-   

Schweiss, K. Dykstra, Person, R. Dykstra  #8  9:20.63  (2014)

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Medley Relay- 

Lunders, Juniel, Otten, Birnbaum #1 3:25.12 (2022) 

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Coach of the Year Awards

  • 2008 Black Hills Conference- Girls Cross Country

  • 2012 Girls Greater Dakota Conference

  • 2013 SDCCTFCA Area 4 Cross Country 

  • 2013 SDCCTFCA Area 4 Assistant Track & Field

  • 2014 SDCCTFCA Boys West Region Cross Country

  • 2014 SDCCTFCA Girls West Region Cross Country

  • 2014 USTFCCA South Dakota Girls Cross Country

  • 2015 SDCCTFCA Area 4 Boys Cross Country 

  • 2017 SDCCTFCA AA West Boys Cross Country

  • 2018 SDCCTFCA AA West Boys Cross Country 

  • 2019 SDCCTFCA AA West Girls Cross Country

  • 2020 SDCCTFCA AA West Boys Cross Country

  • 2021 SDCCTFCA AA West Boys Assistant Track & Field

  • 2021 SDCCTFCA AA West Boys Cross Country

  • 2021 SDCCTFCA AA West Girls Cross Country

  • 2022 SDCCTFCA AA West Girls Assistant Track & Field

  • 2022 SDCCTFCA AA West Boys Assistant Track & Field

  • 2022 SDCCTFCA AA West Boys Cross Country

  • 2022 Circle of Champions- SD Cross Country

  • 2022 SDHSCA Boys Cross Country 

  • 2022 SDHSCA Girls Cross Country 

  • 2022 USTFCCA South Dakota Boys Cross Country

Coy's Top 5

800-3200m

* School Record

# State Record

! National Record

^ Mile/ 2 Mile

800 Meters- Boys

  1. Simeon Birnbaum 1:47.96*#

  2. Andy Coy 1:54.83*

  3. Riley Coates 1:55.1*

  4. Alex Otten 1:55.43

  5. Kyle Burdick 1:56.43

 

800 Meters- Girls

  1. Kendra Dykstra 2:15.74

  2. Jamie Schweiss 2:15.75

  3. Renae Dykstra 2:16.11

  4. Bri Holso 2:16.52

  5. Emily Person 2:17.06

1600 Meters- Boys

  1. Simeon Birnbaum 3:57.53 *#^

  2. Kyle Burdick 4:19.70

  3. Connor Haaland 4:20.97

  4. Grady Loos 4:22.97

  5. Riley Coates 4:23.95

 

1600 Meters- Girls

  1. Bri Holso 4:57.70*

  2. Kendra Dykstra 4:58.27*

  3. Haily Uhre 5:02.53

  4. Tamara Gorman 5:03.42

  5. Gracie Uhre 5:07.44​

3200 Meters- Boys

  1. Simeon Birnbaum 8:34.10 ^*#!

  2. Kyle Burdick 9:29.57

  3. Grady Loos 9:33.90

  4. Riley Coates 9:42.16

  5. Connor Haaland 9:43.73

 

3200 Meters- Girls

  1. Tamara Gorman 10:42.6*

  2. Bri Holso 10:49.50

  3. Hailey Uhre 10:52.86

  4. Gracie Uhre 11:04.70

  5. Emily Person 11:13.53

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