Glacier High School Hires Cody Moore as Cross Country Coach
Moore takes helm of program as fall sports are still in question
By Micah Drew
On June 3, Glacier High School Athletic Director Mark Dennehy announced that Cody Moore had been hired as head cross country coach, replacing Jacob Deitz, who led the Wolfpack distance runners for five years.
“Cody brings amazing enthusiasm and passion for running to the position,” Dennehy said in a press release. “He has a clear plan for the development of runners and we look forward to his leadership.”
Previously, Moore coached track and cross country at Heritage Christian Academy, in Fort Collins, Colo., for three years.
“I started coaching kind of as a way to give back, and kind of got hooked on it,” said Moore, who ran for Shorter University in Georgia for two years during college. “Especially at the high school level where you have all levels of talent, all levels of ability, it’s fun to see people grow and change and then see it click and see the joy of running.”
Moore moved to Kalispell last fall to work as a registered dietician at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He was slated to be a volunteer assistant coach with the Wolfpack for the track season, but only got to attend a single practice before COVID-19 canceled the season.
“Running is like many other sports: you control what you can control and don’t worry about the rest,” said Moore, who just started holding summer practices last week. “We can control the kids being as safe as possible, being in the open air at practice and staying a good distance apart.”
Currently, no decision has been made about fall sports throughout the state. It’s possible a second wave of COVID-19 could put head-to-head competitions in jeopardy, but “we’ll deal with that when it comes.”
“So far practices have been pretty low key as I get to know the team and they get to know me,” Moore said. “We’ve got a really young crew on the guys’ and girls’ side, we’re returning a lot of freshmen, sophomores and juniors and we’ve had a lot of those kids showing up.”
Moore is planning a summer of training that will prepare the Wolfpack for a competitive fall, and hopes to be able to hold a cross country camp later this summer.
Juniors Sam Ells and Piper Koel will be the top returners for the Wolfpack, after finishing 19th and 38th in last year’s state cross country meet. The Glacier boys’ and girls’ teams finished seventh and ninth, respectively.
“I’m excited to have a boys’ and girls’ team competing for podium spots, this year and every year,” Moore said. “I have a young team, which just means there’s a lot of potential for growth and getting faster, and I hope we can grow the team and culture of the team around the high school.”