By Danny Waldo
Saying he has big shoes to fill would be a major understatement for newly hired Bozeman High cross-country coach, Casey Jermyn.
Jermyn was hired July 8th to replace longtime coach, Clint May, who left in June to take a college coaching position in Virginia, leaving behind arguably the most dominate cross-country program in the Pacific Northwest. May’s teams won 18 state titles, including the last nine consecutive for the girls, while the boys have won eight in a row and nine overall since May took the position in 2006.
While Jermyn may be short on coaching experience, having served as an assistant at Missoula Hellgate in 2005, he is no stranger to success or the Bozeman Hawk program.
Jermyn, a former Montana State cross-country runner, helped the Bobcats win the 2002 Big Sky championship, taking home the individual title. He also helped lead the ‘Cats to the 2005 Outdoor title in his final season. His success at MSU followed a highly decorated high school career in which Jermyn won three individual cross-country titles and three track titles at Plains High School, a Class C school located in northwest Montana.
More recently, Jermyn has watched the Bozeman Hawk program in awe as a supporter through his business, the Bozeman Running Company. While he may not be as familiar with his team as May was, Jermyn has met many of his athletes at his store or various functions he contributed to in support of the Hawks.
“Coach May left a legacy and set the bar so high and led such a successful program,” Jermyn said. When I heard I thought, ‘Oh, wow, that’s an opportunity there.”
“Those are hard shoes to fill and you have to look at ways and ask how to make it better,” Jermyn said. “We want to go back to regionals and qualify for the national meet. Most of the kids have had this experience. You want to go back and build on that national meet. That will be a goal. I think I will have my own new twists and turns like fun new workouts that I can help to prepare for things. Really, the only thing I can say I’m very thankful for this opportunity and really excited and anxious to get started.”
Bozeman’s cross-country season begins August 15th.
