Top of the podium

From his younger days growing up on a farm 14 miles northwest of Pingree in the shadow of the Hawksnest foothills, Greg Hoeckle was always driven to succeed.

When he first arrived in the Carrington school district as the new elementary physical education teacher in August 1990, Hoeckle's after-school gig in the spring season, track and field, became his passion.

And his teams' staggering accomplishments since then have led the soft-spoken (but forceful when it has to be) coach with the ready smile to the pinnacle of the sport among his colleagues.

Hoeckle, who retired from the district this spring, was honored as the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) National Coach of the Year for Girls Track and Field at the association's National Convention in Bismarck June 22-27.

"Winning the NHSACA award is a great honor," he said. "It's an honor that is shared by everyone who has been involved with the program over the years."

The 1985 Pingree-Buchanan High School graduate attended VCSU, where he played football, and coached track at Washington Elementary, Oriska High School, and the university under Coach Dave Bass.

In the spring of 1990, Hoeckle student-taught in Carrington, only 17 miles from home, and got his first taste of coaching track locally under Ron Wingenbach, a former CHS coach who later built a Class AAA power on the football field at Bismarck Century.

"When I first arrived, the culture of girls' track had to change," Hoeckle said. "They thought of themselves as not being able to handle the amount of work, or compete at the same level as the boys."

For his long career, Hoeckle's teams have 295 meet victories on the girls' side, and 253 for the boys.

While his boys' teams were always regional contenders, it was the girls' program that became the Class B standard-bearers late in the last millennium.

Behind championships from Sarah Klein in the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles, along with Tara Copenhaver in the shot put and discus and the 4x400-meter relay (Amanda Prosser, Lisa VanRay, Alissa Friezen and Klein), the Cardinal girls won their first state title in 1999 following a runner-up finish the previous season.

That was only the beginning, as the Cards rattled off five Class B crown defenses in succession from 2000-2004, and took second in 2005.

During that time, Klein, Alissa's younger sister Adriana Friezen, and a PBHS phenom named Whitney Carlson became household names among the track-following community.

Carlson herself would end up claiming 19 individual and relay championships during her six years of varsity competition from 2001-06, and would later become an All-American at NDSU.

The Cards would add another three-peat from 2012 to 2014, buoyed by a dominant throwing corps featuring two-time javelin champion Sierra Rosenau, three-title winner Kayla Hochhalter and discus titleist Bailey Retzlaff, and sprinter Josey Page (three individual and three relay titles each). The girls also took second in 2016 and third the following year.

Overall, the girls' team won end up taking 20 regional championships during Hoeckle's tenure to go along with their nine Class B banners, including nine in a row from 2009 to 2017, and five straight from 2019-24, not counting the missed COVID-19 season in 2020. In all, the Cards took 14 of those titles in a 15-year span.

The boys had some strong teams during Hoeckle's tenure as well, taking 10 regional victories and seven runner-up finishes, and were led in the early years by record-setting tosses by Jim Kleinsasser in the shot and discus and Larry Larson's 1995 javelin title.

That year represented the closest Hoeckle would come to a boys' championship, finishing second place, and they also finished fifth in 2016.

One thing Hoeckle's teams have had in abundance is consistency. There have been only three years in his tenure where the Cards have not had at least one state meet placer.

He has coached a total of 62 individual state champions, as well as 10 relay teams, to Class B wins. Eighty-four school records were also broken during Hoeckle's run.

Hoeckle was named the NHSACA Coach of the Year eight times, and was selected to the North Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2015. He is also part of the VCSU Coaching Hall of Fame (2021) and also a Hall of Fame member as part of the school's 1988 football team.

When not leading the track program, Hoeckle served as a coach for Cardinal football for 30 years, including a stint from 2004-07 as head coach. He also coached junior high basketball for 10 years, archery for six and cross country for two.

He credits the support of his wife, Brenda, along with his daughters, Taylor (Kutz) Bartels and Taryn Hoeckle, and son, Thomas.

"They've also been good at reminding me that there are other things in life besides sports," said Hoeckle of his family.

He also is appreciative of the help from his athletic directors, from the late Al Larson and Greg Johnson to most recently Karla Michaelson.

"Also, my assistant coaches have always been the head coach of their event, and are a big part of our success," he said.

He added that the secretaries and janitors at both the elementary and high school deserve credit, along with the parents, community, and all the volunteers over the years.

"I hope, in some part, that I had a positive impact on everyone who went through the program," he said. "I know each and every one of them had a profound impact on my life."