North Hills Track and Field Coach John Wilkie Retires After 38 Years

John Wilkie remembers nearly breaking down in tears as his young North Hills runners approached the starting line at the state boys’ cross country championship in November 1979 at Fort Indiantown Gap.

“I was thinking, 'What if they finish second? Everyone is going to look on them as failures,' ” Wilkie said. “We had to win.”

Then one of the runners, Scott Shapert ‑- Wilkie described him as having “ice water in his veins” ‑- turned to his coach and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll win the damn thing for you,” Wilkie recalled.

And win they did, capping the first of many successful seasons for the 60-year-old coach who earlier this year announced that this season would be his last.

Wilkie has coached the boys’ distance runners in track as well as the cross-country team for the since 1973. He also coached the girls’ distance runners  between 1977 and 1992, and his girl’s team won the 1979 WPIAL championship.

Two years ago, he returned to working with the girls and mentored Margo, Shannon, and Mary Malone -- sisters who finished first, third and seventh respectively in leading North Hills to the 2010 WPIAL cross-country championship last fall.

“The dedication and commitment to excellence that Coach Wilkie has demonstrated to his sport is unparalled in the history of the WPIAL,” said North Hills Athletic Director Dan Cardone.

Making the decision to retire was not easy, Wilkie said.

“That’s going to be a void in my life, watching these kids compete and win championships. I think I’m going to have to stay in the sport in some capacity because I don’t know if I could live without that kick that you get from seeing the fruits of your labor. ”

But he also admits, “It’s time. My wife has been after me for five years to retire. It’s been a long time since we’ve even been on a vacation.”

Wilkie’s work ethic is legendary in track circles. He oversaw practice six days a week, 52 weeks a year. On Christmas mornings, he would arrive at at 9 a.m. sharp for any of his runners who wanted to work out. Many of them did.

Margo Malone, a rising senior at North Hills, said most of Wilkie’s runners realized early on they had a very special coach.

“He gives us the motivation to achieve greatness, and more importantly he inspires us to a healthy, humble lifestyle," she said. "I can’t think of anyone who does it any better.”

“I’ve always felt if the kids are going to be committed, then I have to be committed,” Wilkie said. “If they are putting in the work, they deserve a coach who is going to be there with them and [who] gives them the necessary feedback each day so they know what they can do to improve the next day.” 

Cardone said Wilkie “has spent so much time with student athletes at North Park that they should reame it 'John Wilkie Lake.' ”

That dedication has not always sat well at home. A few years back, he turned down a free trip to Mexico with his wife, Carla, because it was scheduled in the middle of winter conditioning.

“My wife wasn’t too happy with me for a while,” he said.

Wilkie said he credits much of his success to meticulous record keeping and a winning tradition first established with that state championship in 1979.

“My runners today can look back and see what Ian Fitzgerald did and his teammates did, and try to emulate their success and the training that took them to that success,” he said.

“I can tell you what Mike Flynn, my first WPIAL champion, did on whatever day. So I can look back and say, ‘Hey guys, this guy had very similar talent as you, and this is what he was doing and this is what took him to the top.’ I kinda have a blueprint for success.”

The coach insists winning is more about drive than talent. Fitzgerald, widely considered the best runner to ever come out of Western Pennsylvania, won the state championship twice and the WPIAL championship three times. Yet Fitzgerald was a mediocre runner in junior high school, Wilkie said.

“His talent was obviously there, but it certainly wasn’t readily apparent. If he had a talent, it was for working hard. He was very mentally tough and very committed, and that’s what took him to the top.”

Fitzgerald wasn’t alone. Forty-nine other North Hills distance runners coached by Wilkie have won medals in state-championship competition. Nine are outright champions. They have set records, which, in some cases hold up for years. Steve Brown, a two-time state and WPIAL champion, held the 3,200-meter record he set in 1985 until 1994 -- when it was broken by Fitzgerald, who still holds it.

“Not all of my great runners have been ultra-talented, but they all have been driven,” Wilkie said.

Wilkie’s accomplishments may be even more remarkable because of the relative low number of North Hills students who come out for distance running.

“North Hills is a football school first. A school like North Allegheny, for a variety of reasons, they have huge teams. They typically have about 80 boys on their varsity roster; I’ll typically have between 10 to 12.”

Wilkie says he was blessed with great coaches himself.

“I ran for the legendary Russ Cerny at North Allegheny, who in my mind is still the best coach in Pennsylvania state history. I also learned a lot from Harry Groves at Penn State, and I’ve read an awful lot," he said. "I’ve got a huge library of books. I’m always keeping up with the latest on exercise physiology, so I’m always learning. Once you stop learning you might as well be dead.”

Wilkie said he hopes to remain active in the sport during his retirement. While health problems prohibit him from running, he works out daily. He is also a history buff. He taught ninth-grade American history during most of his career at North Hills. He also collects World War II military antiques, including daggers, medals and helmets from the Third Reich.

He first thought of ending his coaching career five years ago when he retired from teaching.

But, he added, “I wanted to go out on a high note."

That he did. Seniors Zach Hebda, Juris Silenieks, and Joe Kush made history, finishing first, second and third respectively at the 2010 WPIAL cross-country championships. Their success continued in the state track championship last weekend at Shippensburg University. Hebda, Kush and Silenieks finished second, fifth and sixth respectively in the 3,200, with Hebda just a half-second out of first place.

“Sweeping the top three spots has never been done before," said Wilkie. "I said to the guys, what a great retirement present. This is a great way to go out.”   

Hebda is quick to give credit back to his coach.

"His dedication to the success of my teammates and me has made the trio into not just amazing runners, but also I think, amazing men," Hebda said.

As for the women, the three Malone sisters also raced in finals at the PIAA championships at Shippensburg. Shannon finished seventh in the 3,200 and Mary 11th in the 1,600 -- the same race in which Margo became the first girl in North Hills history to win a state track event.

Another nice ending for Wilkie.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Steve Brown, a two-time state and WPIAL champion, still held the 3,200-meter record he set in 1985. The record was broken by Ian Fitzgerald, another North Hills runner, in 1994.