This past week, the Iowa Association of Track Coaches named their 2017 selections for coach of the year for all classes. For class 4A, Erik Belby of Pleasant Valley was awarded this title. Belby commented on his honor, “I am honored to receive this award. First of all, it means so much to me that my peers (fellow Iowa coaches) consider me worthy of their recognition. Secondly, I believe this award highlights the overall strength of our program and for that reason I have to thank the my assistant coach (Nick Sacco), teachers, administrators, parents, and fans who have supported our team all year long. Most importantly this honor recognizes the accomplishments of the boys that dedicated themselves to our team’s success. They worked extremely hard in all conditions to achieve our number one goal…a state championship!”

Senior Konnor Sommer stated, “ Coach Belby is very knowledgeable about the sport, and was able to put together a workout plan that allowed the team to peak at the end of the season for the meets that mattered. He deserves this award because the team has been very good for a very long time, and we were finally able to take the state title again this year under his coaching.”

The Pleasant Valley team is fresh off of a successful season, ending with a state title in Fort Dodge. What sets the PV team apart from the rest of the state is explained by Belby, “We have a deep team that is dedicated to competitive running. Our mission is to compete for a state title every year. That means we need fresh, soph, and JV runners progressing each day so that our lineup is not weakened by injury or graduation.”

All the best in the future seasons to Belby and his team.