Long-time coach stepping down

Coach Brian Kiely talks with senior Ben Karkoski. Kiely is retiring after this season.

By Fred Herbst

As of Wednesday, August 31, 2011 -8:23 p.m.

Sentinel schedule

Sept. 10

Section VII Early Bird Invitational at Saranac

Sept. 13

Ti, AVCS, Beekmantown at Saranac lake...Sept. 16

AVCS, NCCS, Peru at Ti...Sept. 20

Ti, Lake Placid, Plattsburgh at AVCS...Sept. 27

AVCS, Seton, Saranac at Ti...Oct. 4

Ti, AVCS, Saranac Lake at Beekmantown...Oct. 11

Ti, NCCS, Peru at AVCS...Oct. 18

Ti, AVCS, Plattsburgh at Lake Placid...Oct. 25

Ti, AVCS, Saranac at Seton...Oct. 29

CVAC Meet at NCCS...Nov. 4

Section VII Meet at Elizabethtown

Ticonderoga — The most senior cross country coach in the area will end his career with one of his youngest teams ever.

Ticonderoga High School Coach Brian Kiely is calling its quits. This, his 31st season, will be his last. And to make it interesting, the Sentinels return just one senior to the roster.

“My plan is to retire from active coaching after the 2011 season,” Kiely said. “This will be my 31st season with cross country and my 36th year of coaching school sports since 1976. I have greatly enjoyed it, but it’s time to let the younger folks who have an interest in coaching have their shot at it. I do anticipate staying on as Section 7 boys cross country coordinator for several more years.”

The Sentinels were 11-7 in the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference last season, giving Kiely 368 career wins as coach.

Kiely’s final season won’t be an easy one. Ben Karkoski is the team’s lone senior, but there is some experience. Tyler Belden, Brandon Charboneau, Coleman Granger, Michael LaFountain, Javeed Nazir, Keegan Tierney and Jacob Young all return to the club.

Newcomers include Ethan Bain, John Cook, Devin Davis, Tomas Hendrix, Seth Hunsdon, Marcus Moser, Cody O’Hara, Ryan Price, Kody Quigley, Shawn Silliman and Milo Thurbon.

“We have strength in numbers this year,” Kiely said. “We have a number of former successful modified runners moving up and a key component of our success will be how they adjust to racing at the longer varsity distance. We also have a number of talented returnees which should keep us competitive with most of the other CVAC teams.

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