Kelven “Pee Wee” Halsell, Western Washington University’s head track and field and cross country coach for the past 36 seasons, has retired, the WWU Athletics Department announced Friday.
Halsell, 65, is the university’s longest-tenured coach in school history, having begun his head coaching tenure in 1987. He received a total of 44 Coach of the Year awards, coached the Vikings to 36 team championships, and helped lead 10 individual national champions, among many other legendary accolades.
“For me, the most rewarding part of my job was having student-athletes who wanted to compete and do well,” Halsell said in a news release. “It’s been fun helping them grow and go on to becoming productive adults.”
Western cross country was led by assistant coach T.J. Garlatz at the NCAA Division II National Championships on Dec. 2, as Halsell was away from the team for undisclosed reasons. The men’s team finished 14th as a group in Garlatz’s stead.
Western Athletics Director Steve Card announced in the release that assistant coach Ben Stensland has been named interim head coach for both the track and field and cross country programs.
“I just want to thank Pee Wee for his many years of service,” Card said. “He has touched the lives of generations of student-athletes, and he will be dearly missed.”
Halsell was born and raised in Texas, spending eight years as the assistant track and field coach at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, before arriving at Western.
“I came from a situation where I was given an opportunity and it gave me a career,” Halsell said. “I wanted to be able to give opportunities. It is really about teaching kids to take those opportunities. I tell them, ‘Don’t look back,’ you make a decision and you go with it.”
