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Flathead Coach Garners National Award

Bob Raeth named National High School Athletic Coaches Association's Boys Assistant Coach of the Year

By Andy Viano

Retired Flathead High School track and field coach Bob Raeth was named the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s 2018 Assistant Boys Coach of the Year at the group’s annual convention in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on June 27.

Raeth, who retired after 36 years at Flathead, spent a total 47 years as a coach in Montana. He began his coaching career at Great Falls C.M. Russell High School in the 1970s before moving to Whitefish. Raeth spent three years as the head coach of the Bulldogs’ football team, leading the 1979 squad a state championship, the school’s first, behind standout defensive back Ryan Zinke. Raeth later served as Flathead’s head football coach for 10 seasons.

The NHSACA also inducted Shirley Chesterfield-Stanton into its Hall of Fame on June 27. Chesterfield-Stanton has coached track and field at Helena Capital High School for the last 40 years and was named to the Montana Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2002.

Raeth, Chesterfield-Stanton and other award finalists will be honored at the MCA’s annual awards ceremony, Thursday, August 2 in Great Falls.