Biography:
Pioneer High School
Head Cross Country Coach 1968 to present
Regional Champions 20 times
Qualified to State Championships 41 times, and in the top ten 34 times.
State Champions six times; 1987, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2008, 2017
State Runners Up five times; 1974, 1988, 1989, 2005, 2009
Maintained the 2 nd best State Finals record in the 1980’s, and 3 rd best State Finals record in the
1990s, of all participating schools. Best overall record at the State Finals over last 51 years.
Fifty three athletes have achieved All State, including three State Champions
Individual State Champions 1985, 1993, 1994, 2017, 2018
Three athletes have qualified to the Footlocker National Championships
Ranked 9 th in the nation in 1993 and 3 rd in 1994 by USA Today
Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Coach of the Year for cross country five
times; 1987, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2008, 2017. . Nominated Coach of the Year 1973, 1988, 1989,
2005, 2009, 2018, 2020
Michigan High School Coaches Association Cross Country Coach of the Year1994
National High School Athletic Coaches Association Midwest Cross Country Coach of the Year 1994
National High School Athletic Coaches Association Cross Country Coach of the Year Finalist 1994
Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Kermit Ambrose Award for service to the sport 1994
Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame 2007
Michigan High School Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year 2009
National High School Coaches Federation Sectional Coach of the Year 2009
National High School Athletic Coaches Association National Coach of the Year Finalist and
National Coach of the Year for cross country 2009
Head Track and Field Coach 1974 to present; asst coach 1969 to 1973
Regional Champions fourteen times
State Champions in 2007
State Championships Runners-up 1972, 1995, 2010 2018, 2019
State Champions in the long jump, high jump, high hurdles, 200m, 1600m, 3200m, 4 x 200m relay,
4 x 400m relay, and 3200m relay
66 athletes have been All State athletes in every event in the track program
Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association T&F Coach of the Year Nominee 1974, 1987, 1995,
2018, 2019
Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association T&F Coach of the Year 2007
Michigan High School Coaches Association T&F Coach of the Year 2008
Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame 2008
National Midwest Boys T & F Coach of the Year 2009
National High School Athletic Coaches Association Finalist T & F Coach of the Year 2009
National High School Athletic Coaches Association T&F Coach of the Year 2009
Presented with City Proclamation by Ann Arbor City Council 2009
Ann Arbor Board of Education named the Pioneer High School track the Westfield / Sleeman
Track 2010
UST&F Registered Official
Assistant Starter at NCAA Indoor Championships hosted by The University of Michigan
Head Starter for Mid American Indoor Championships, Central Collegiate Championships, Big 10
Indoor Championships, and all University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University indoor
meets
Official, NCAA Outdoor Championships 1997, 2000, & 2003; and Cross Country Championship 2003
Official, 1996 Olympic Trials
Official, 1996 Olympic Games
Management
Meet Director Pioneer High School Cross Country Invitational
Meet Director Pioneer High School Indoor Track & Field Invitational
Meet Director Pioneer High School Outdoors Track & Field Invitational
Meet Director Regional Cross Country Championships 9 times.
Meet Director State Cross Country Championships 1990
Michigan High School Athletic Association Rules Committee
State Indoor Championships Selection Committee
Related Experiences
Base Track Coach Shaw AFB, South Carolina 1959 - 1960
Tactical Air Command One and Three Mile Champion 1959 - 1960
Track & Field Graduate Assistant Eastern Michigan University 1968
Volunteer coach at University of Michigan 1995, 1996
JUCO National Two-Mile Champion 1962
JUCO National Cross Country Team Champions & Team Captain 1961
President’s Athletic Conference Cross Country Team Champions & Team Captain 1964 at E.M.U.
Peace Corps Teacher/Coach, Asmara Eritrea (then Ethiopia) 1965
Coach University of Michigan Cross Country Camp
Coach Nike Cross Country Camp
Past President Ann Arbor Track Club
Nationally Ranked Masters Runner with National Championships in: Cross Country, 3000m indoor
in 1989, and 5000m outdoors in 1989; and first place in the Master’s Division of the 1980 Detroit
Marathon
Served on Executive Board of Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association as:
Secretary 2004, Second Vice President 2005, First Vice President 2006, President 2007, and
Past President 2008
Have coached for 158seasons of cross country, indoor track and out door track.
Biography:
Ex Pioneer Alum and athletic. Ex-athlete alum at Michigan State University. USATF certified coaching in the Sprints, Middle Distance, Long Jump, High Jump, Triple Jump.
Biography:
Vern Kiehl joined the Pioneer HS Track and Field staff in 2018, as an assistant coach, specializing in hurdles.
Kiehl competed in hurdles and pole vault in high school and at Defiance College, in Defiance, Ohio.
He comes to Pioneer from Northwest Ohio, where his Track and Field coaching career began in the spring of 1981, as an assistant at Cardinal Stritch High School. In 1986, he became the Head Coach at Perrysburg High School, in Perrysburg, Ohio.
During his tenure at Perrysburg, he was a 9 time Northern Lakes League Coach of the Year and amassed over 300 victories.
Vern has also been a member of the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches, joining the organization in 2000. He has served OATCCC as a District Representative, Vice President and President.
In addition to his work with OATCCC, Vern has served on the Ohio High School Athletic Association Track and Field Advisory Board, as well as the OHSAA State Track and Field Games Committee and the Ohio State Track and Field Advisory Board.
In 2011, Kiehl received the OHSAA’s Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award for his unwavering commitment to good sportsmanship, high level of ethics and integrity in carrying out his responsibilities as a coach.
In 2015, Kiehl was honored to receive the OATCCC Ed Barker Award, their highest award, for his contributions to Cross Country and Track and Field in Ohio.
In addition to Track and Field, Vern has coached Cross Country, Varsity and Freshman Football, as well as Girls’ Basketball. He has also been a Track and Field official since 1990.
Vern retired from teaching at Perrysburg High School in 2013, but has continued to coach since his retirement.
He lives with his wife, Kathy in Saline.