Long time Western Washington coach Pee Wee Halsell steps down after 36 years...

BELLINGHAM--Western Washington University announced that long-time head track & field and cross country coach Kelven "Pee Wee" Halsell (Paul Merca photo), the longest tenured head coach in school history, is stepping down from his position after leading the Viking program for 36 years.

Halsell started at Western Washington in June 1987. At that time the Vikings competed at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level before moving to Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1998.

In all, Halsell received 44 Coach of the Year honors while directing the Vikings to 36 team championships. He was most recently selected as the 2022 GNAC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year and has been the recipient of Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year award from the GNAC each of the last three seasons. When combining cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field, Halsell has received 26 GNAC Coach of the Year awards dating back to the start of the conference in 2001.

Some of the best athletes Halsell coached at Western include Sarah Porter Crouch, who turned professional after being a national champion in the 10,000 meters and a 12-time All-American; Ryan Brown, a four-time national champion pole vaulter; Katelyn Steen, a three-sport All-American; and javelin throwers Bethany Drake and Monika Gruszecki, both two-time national champions, and four-time All-American Katie Reichert.

Under Halsell, Western had 32 top 20 national meet finishes in cross country and 16 in track and field. His women’s cross country team placed fourth (NAIA) in 1992 and sixth (NCAA Division II) in 2015, his women’s outdoor track & field squad sixth in 2011 (NCAA Division II), and his men’s cross country team fourth in 2009 (NCAA Division II). All of those are the highest finishes in school history. The Vikings men’s track & field and cross country programs have captured eight of the last nine conference championships dating back to the 2019 season.

Prior to his arrival at Western, the 65-year-old Halsell, who was born and raised in Texas, was the full-time assistant track coach for eight years at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, helping the Pioneers dominate the NAIA nationally.

Halsell obtained both his bachelor's (1981) and master's degrees (1985) at Wayland Baptist. He also attended South Plains College (Texas), being a distance runner and later a student assistant coach for a Texans' squad in 1979 that placed fourth at the National Junior College Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

“One thing in particular that I like about track & field and cross country is that they are about the individual becoming a better person, developing their athleticism and not having to depend upon another person,” said Halsell. “You can be as good as you want to be.

“For me the most rewarding part of my job was having student-athletes who wanted to compete and do well,” said Halsell. “It’s been fun helping them grow and go on to becoming productive adults.

“To me the Coach of the Year awards mean the coaches who are helping me out are doing their job, and the athletes are going out and performing at a high level. That’s what makes me proud.”

In a statement, WWU athletic director Steve Card said, “I just want to thank Pee Wee for his many years of service. He has touched the lives of generations of student-athletes, and he will be dearly missed.”

Card announced that Ben Stensland will be the interim head coach for track and cross country.

The Western Washington release is available here.

NOTE: The sports information office of Western Washington University contributed to this report.

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