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| Kilbreth is the first female coach in the state to win an award such as this. |
The South Carolina High School League named Eileen Kilbreth the coach of the year and then nominated her for the national award. Kilbreth was then one of the eight regional winners that advanced to the finals.
Kilbreth is the first female coach in the state to win an award such as this, as stated by the South Carolina High School and NFHS officials in the Spartanburg Herald.
The Lady Vikings finished first or second in the state for the past 10 straight seasons, captured 14 consecutive county championships and previously held a 13 consecutive region title streak.
Kilbreth will be honored in the summer issue of Coaches Quarterly (goupstate.com) and is the second Spartanburg High coach to win a national honor.
Jim Kilbreth got Eileen into coaching and taught her his theories, which led to Jim and Eileen each having five state titles. The couple's only child, Ryan, began running as a seventh grader. Eileen Kilbreth then began to build a girls program. At the end of the 1990 season the Lady Vikings finished fourth in the state and then third in 1991. The championship streak started in 1993.
Eileen's change of jobs in the school district from elementary teacher to junior high English teacher at McCracken jumpstarted the program. This is when Eileen started to look for runner's in the hallway.
While at Spartanburg Eileen's accomplishments with the Spartanburg cross country team includes 14 consecutive county titles and 13 straight region crowns.
Eileen Kilbreth's accomplishments with the Spartanburg cross country team include 14 consecutive county titles and 13 straight region crowns.
Career coaching record, community service, involvement in other school activities and involvement in your profession at the local, state, and national levels, and basic philosophy coaching are the criteria used to select coaches of the year.
For the goupstate.com article visit: goupstate.com.