Page 58 July 2014 ARCADIA SPORTS Coach and track team win championship after 30 years By Nicholas Smith Sometimes the smallest decisions in life can end up having a much larger impact. This is the case when it comes to the career of Arcadia High School track coach, Rob Reniewicki. A Phoenix native and a graduate of the University of Arizona, Reniewicki was offered the exact same job by two different high schools. Both Arcadia High School and Saguaro High offered him a job teaching chemistry and coaching the track and field team. “Same exact job,” Reniewicki reflected. “To be honest, I decided to take the Arcadia job mostly because it was closer to my house.” Few would say that was a bad decision. Next season will be Reniewicki’s 30th at the school. Although he has coached many memorable and talented teams, Arcadia had never won a track and field state championship during his tenure. But Reniewicki says that isn’t his foremost goal in the first place. “Obviously you want to do your best,” he said. “But the goal really is to find the right place on the team for each kid to excel.” Reniewicki and his coaching staff will usually try athletes in a variety of events during their freshman season and the ... practice can continue when the students are sophomores. By the time they are juniors, the coaches hope to have found them the event at which they can succeed best. “Sometimes you get a kid who wants to be a sprinter,” said Reniewicki. “But then you’ll see him long jump and you’ll say holy cow! This is where he needs to be!” This year’s Arcadia boys track and field team was stocked with talent. The coaches knew this team had a shot at being Arcadia’s first state champions, but they knew that talent isn’t a guarantee to always win. “We had a team last year that I think was more talented than this year’s team,” Reniewicki said. “We finished fourth at state.” This year’s team only won one event all season. But their sole win was the one that mattered the most. The team gathered enough points during the season to qualify for state, and once they were there, the team stepped up huge. Senior Tim Duckworth led the way, scoring in four different events. He won the pole vault, finished second in high jump, fourth in long jump, and fifth in the hurdles. The Arcadia team scored 49 points the day of the state meet; 24 of them came from Duckworth. Aiding Duckworth were his teammates, who stepped up in their respective events. Will McClelland finished second in the half mile and was part of the 4 x 800 meters relay. His relay team members were Ethan Woodward, Agazi Yohannes and coach Reniewicki’s son, John, who also came in fifth and sixth in the two mile and mile races respectively. Junior A.J. Bates also brought home points with a sixth place finish in the 300 meter hurtles. It was more than enough to bring home Arcadia’s first boys track and field championship. Reniewicki didn’t believe it until it officially ended. “I told my wife it was such a relief,” he said. “We had two whole days of being nervous and strange things happen in high school sports. Kids trip and fall, get bumped. Things don’t always go as planned.” Coach Reniewicki plans to fly past year 30 at Arcadia, stating he hopes to stay on at least a few more years. He also made sure to give out praise to his assistant coaches. “Without those guys, none of this happens.” he said. “They deserve as much credit as anyone.” (Top) Coach Reniewicki with his son, John and daughter, Megan. (Bottom) Left to right: John Reniewicki, Tim Duckworth and Ethan Woodward hoist the State Championship trophy. LEARN THE SKILLS TO PLAY MULTIPLE SPORTS all in one camp! IN ARCADIA New Way Academy, 52nd St & Oak basketball, soccer, baseball, swimming, archery, volleyball and field sports 1 week sessions· Full & Half day Extended Care · Ages 4½ -13 HUBBARDSPORTS.COM 602.971.4044

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