Sweetwater High School Cross Country Head Coach Doug Daffern has nearly 30 years of coaching experience.
He is now in his seventh year at Sweetwater and his sixth year as head coach.
In his years as a coach at several schools, he has won multiple state championships.
Still, he says few are as sweet as Sweetwater’s gold medal at last week’s first-even Class A Cross Country State Championship.
“This is the first year that class existed,” Daffern explained. “So we are now and will forever be the first school to win the state championship in that class. But, it is also our first state championship in cross country in any class. Not that long ago, track and cross country wasn’t something that Sweetwater was known for. But, we received a lot of support from the community. We built a million dollar track facility and have been holding a track meet that I think compares to any. It has almost been like building a program from the ground up, and the kids have clearly responded to that. Of the winning teams that I have coached, it is always awesome to see your kids accomplish what they set out for. That said, I can’t think of a win that felt better than watching these boys do this because we built it together. They built it together. They have given all they could to make this become a reality. As a coach, there is not much better than seeing them do that.”
The team had a small roster. Still, they were able to rack up enough points to come out the winner.
Kolyn Odom placed 8th, Blake Laster was 13th, Jude Lunsford was 17th, Tristan Billingsley was 29th, Levi Akemon was 69th, and Austin Megli was 74th.
In total, Class A had 124 runners.
Daffern also noted the boys also won regionals.
The coach’s hope is to continue this legacy and build a track and cross country dynasty at Sweetwater.
“Our girls had a great season, too, and we are planning to keep building on that. This is a young team, so we have several more years with them, but we also have little kids coming out to run with us every morning. They are putting in the work and seeing the rewards from that. The older kids understand that they are mentors to the little kids, so they are encouraging them to get involved as much as I am. We did lose our top runner this year to Elk City, but the boys still answered with that and outperformed themselves. I couldn’t be more proud,” Daffern stated.
Daffern wants people to understand that children have as many scholarship opportunities at Sweetwater as bigger schools.
“One of our girls pretty well got a full-ride this last year running,” Daffern said. “College coaches don’t care if they come from a tiny school like ours, which I think is the tenth smallest in the state, or a bigger one. They want kids who will be good students who will also be great athletes. I would put our academics against any school. We have some of the best teachers I have ever worked with.”
Although his team just won the ultimate prize in Oklahoma athletics, he has no plans to hang up his hat.
“I will do this as long as it is fun and the kids want to do it,” Daffern smiled. “And this was fun.”
