Font ResizeGone is the legendary runner, the one who eclipsed nearly every school and area record in the sport.
And gone is the head coach, the one who collected division titles under his tenure.
And yet, this all may not be bad for the Colonials.
Sure, New Oxford may in fact never come across another Jordan Jenkins in the school's history. But that may be a blessing in disguise. No need to worry about that overwhelming shadow anymore.
New head coach Colby Frantz thinks talented sophomore Kaylee Kubisiak is ready to shine on her own terms, ready to set her own path down that long and often windy stretch ending in 3.1 miles.
"Kaylee, I can't say enough about the training she's done this offseason," said Frantz, who takes over for Keith Williams. "She's going to be the No. 1 runner on this team, I would imagine. She's put in a lot of work in practice and does nothing but push harder and harder every day."
In fact, Frantz thinks Kubisiak is in line for a really big accomplishment in 2009: breaking 20 minutes.
For a sophomore who looks to be the team's No. 1 runner, that's a lot to ask. After all, she didn't break it last year. Even the best girls in York County aren't at that level yet, except for maybe York Catholic junior Kady Schrann.
But Frantz, a week into the job, has no doubts about his sophomore's talent.
"Absolutely," Frantz said about Kubisiak's quest. "She's going to
Frantz enters the picture having been a wrestling coach in Delaware and a history teacher at Delone Catholic for the past four years. At the McSherrystown school, he'll continue to teach history, but wrestling will be out -- at least for now.
Having graduated from Red Lion in 1994, Frantz was a YAIAA all-star in the sport and continued grappling in the Marine Corps. After his time with the Marines, he landed a few assistant wrestling positions in York County before the opportunity in Delaware arose.
"I took a program that hadn't won a match in five years, in competitive dual meets, and (won a match)," Frantz said. "I also had a state qualifier in that amount of time. We eventually were a .500 team. I had about three state qualifiers roughly in my tenure while I was there."
Frantz wouldn't rule out seeking an assistant coaching job in the winter, when wrestling starts again, but more at hand was the cross country season.
The first-year coach isn't loaded with experience in coaching runners, but he does have history in the sport. He ran his junior and senior years while at Red Lion -- where he said he was a York-Adams all-star -- and admitted to having an emerging interest in running during his time in the Marines.
He has a philosophy that seems befitting of the job at hand.
"I'm a firm believer that you run with the team," Frantz said. "I've always been like that. I would never ask them to do what I wouldn't do myself. I set that example and I make sure that, when they're running, I'm right behind them pushing them.
"That's kind of the way I do it. I look for leaders and Iwant those leaders to step up and to encourage the ones that are having a little difficulty. I want them to nurture the younger runners and bring them along."
