Behnke deserves recognition for all his teams' accomplishments The Stevens Point area community has an unrivaled ambassador in Donn Behnke, cross country coach at Stevens Point Area Senior High School. Behnke, a low-key individual who doesn't like the spotlight, deserves a place in community annals for his impact on youth in the community. A social studies teacher at P.J. Jacobs Junior High School, Behnke was recently inducted into the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame because of his unrivaled success with cross country teams. He's been coaching for 24 years, since 1977, and his teams have made 24 consecutive trips to the State Meet, something no other team in the state has accomplished. His teams have won seven Division 1 championships and finished as runner-up three other times. Only eight runners can participate as a team in a meet and seven in state competition, but Behnke usually has enough runners to field three or four teams, many of them better than varsity runners at other schools. Behnke admitted Friday, at festivities during halftime of a basketball game, that he was uncomfortable with the attention that put him in the spotlight. And he thanked the runners, their families, his wife and his daughter for their support of the program. But the core of the program is Behnke, who aspires his runners to greatness. SPASH and other schools, large and small, contain many gifted athletes. But none has been able to dominate a sport in the way SPASH's cross country runners have. Your impact on the students you coached is evident from the number of runners from years past who turned out for special activities during the weekend. Thank you, Donn, for deciding to make Stevens Point and Portage County your home. May you and your family experience the pride and joy you've brought to the community. - Gene Kemmeter