Blankenship to Relinquish Cross-Country Post at Hart

Hart High’s Gene Blankenship, one of the Southern Section’s most successful cross-country coaches, said Tuesday that he will resign at the end of the season, his 11th with the program.

Blankenship, 50, will coach Hart’s distance runners during the 1993 track season, then move to Spokane, Wash., with his girlfriend, Sue Simms, who is being transferred by her employer to the area in August. Blankenship still wants to coach and he hopes to get a job at a high school in the Spokane area.

“I’m not burned out at all,” he said. “Going to practice every day is as much fun as it was 12 years ago. . . . Call it ego or call it a need to be challenged, but I would like to build a team up there from scratch.”

Blankenship, who has guided the Hart boys’ team to three consecutive Southern Section titles and two consecutive state Division I titles, informed Hart Principal Laurence Strauss of his decision last week and told his team Monday.

“I wanted to wait until after (the Southern Section championships Saturday), to make an announcement,” Blankenship said. “But the rumors were becoming too much of a distraction to the kids.”

Blankenship said he recommended two successors to Strauss but declined to reveal his choices. Strauss also refused to give their names but said they are coaches at other schools.

Hart, last year’s mythical national champion according to The Harrier magazine, was the top-ranked team in the nation for the first half of the season before finishing fourth in the team sweepstakes race in last month’s Mt. San Antonio College invitational behind Thousand Oaks, Madera (Calif.), and Katella.

Thousand Oaks and Hart are expected to battle Saturday for the Southern Section Division I title at Mt. SAC.

The Lancers and Indians are also co-favorites for the state title in Fresno, Nov. 28.

Hart has won outright or shared 10 consecutive Foothill League boys’ and girls’ titles. The boys’ team has placed fourth or higher in eight consecutive Southern Section championships, and the girls’ team has placed eighth or higher in eight of the past nine.

“It’s not going to be easy to leave this program,” Blankenship said. “With our program, it’s like leaving my family.”