High school track: Former coach Jim Reynolds remembered at namesake meet

AVON – There were still many heavy hearts. Former athletes and students of the late Avon High track and cross country coach Jim Reynolds came together for a memorial recognition prior to the start of Friday's 45th edition of the Reynolds Invitational at Mark Wahlberg Stadium. Reynolds, affectionately know as "JR," of Ashland, passed away Feb. 6 at his home at the age of 90. Reynolds coached Avon High boys and girls cross country as well as girls track for 32 of his last 33 years of coaching in Lorain County between 1973-2006. As best as they could, Reynolds' former athletes brought a positive vibe to Friday's Reynolds meet, which was renamed in Reynolds honor in 2008. "Coach Reynolds was just an exceptional motivator," said Steve Wharton, a former Eagle distance runner and 1983 Avon High graduate. "He just gave a lot of people confidence that goes well beyond what played out on the track. He gave people confidence in life. He was a tremendous human being and it showed in the comments from folks here. He cared about the human being. He was an exceptional person." Former Avon superintendent Robert Barnhart hired Reynolds to come to Avon. Reynolds initially applied for the head football job opening, but didn't get the nod. When he offered to take the opening for girls varsity track, there was initial hesitation by the school because, back then, women almost exclusively coach girls sports team. Reynolds' wife, Portia, took the girls track job on paper with Jim coaching the team. Trista (Barnhart) Brennan, Barnhart's granddaughter and member of Avon High class of 2003, was a sprinter and jumper for Reynolds' track teams. "Coach Reynolds pushed you beyond what you even knew was possible. That's what made him so amazing," said Brennan, coach for South County High in Virginia. "He never broke you. He always built you up. He just knew how to do that. After becoming a teacher and a coach myself, every single day I always say that I need to channel my inner JR to be like him and to try everything to be that legend that he really was. He loved, no matter what events you did and who you were. You felt like you were important to him and special to him. He's an Avon legend. "I hope everybody talks about him for years and years to come. The Reynolds Invitational is appropriately named. We won the meet my senior year. He was just so amazing. He definitely is going to be missed." A 2014 inductee of the Lorain County Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame, Reynolds led the Avon girls track and cross country programs to a combined three top-3 finishes in the state. The 1978 and '79 girls track teams were both second at the Class AA (now Division II) state meet. The 1988 girls cross country team was third at the Class A state meet after a fourth-place state finish in 1987. His teams won four regional titles, three in girls track (1978-80) and one in girls cross country (1988). Reynolds previously coached at Ashland Mapleton High School from 1965-73 before taking the teaching and coaching job at Avon High School. "He never set the bar too high," said Pam Crea, Reynolds' daughter. "They always met it and went over it. It didn't matter if it was in track or in the classroom, he just wanted you to do the best of your abilities. He would always shoot for their ability to be higher, and they could meet it because somebody believed in them. He did the same thing for us growing up." "He was like an extra dad to us," said Linda (Marlette) DeCarlo, Avon class of 1991. "I ran for him for all four years. He first took me under his wing in eighth grade year. My one brother (David) ran for him. I ran my first 10K in fourth grade. They would have us run for the middle school on Detroit Road over to here (the old Avon High at 3075 Stoney Ridge Road, now the Avon Early Education Center) and have me run with the high school kids. I did four years (of high school) with him and then ran four years at college (Otterbein University)." Reynolds first recruited Jennifer (Schafer) Parker right out of volleyball practice for the district cross country meet her sophomore year. Parker had run track as a freshman the prior spring, so Reynolds knew Parker's running talents and abilities. "He just had the knowledge and he was persistent," said Parker, a 1990 Avon grad and a 1988 state track runner-up for the 3,200. "He knew how to make you be driven. He was caring and understanding. He had a great way to gauge whether you were tired, whether to push you, how to push you, what to say. That was his strength. He knew when and how to do it. "Sometimes coaches know when to do it, but not necessarily how. He had all the aspects covered. He knew you as a person, so he knew how to push you and when to let you to sit back and relax. He was almost a father figure to us. And if you were nervous and he was cheering for you, it just kind of went away and you just tried to drive through it." "He was very well-balanced," said Claire (DeChant) Fisher, a 1997 Avon grad and a Division III national discus champ for Baldwin Wallace. "Even if we had some people that helped us with our throwing events, he would still come over and make it a point of 'what can I do to help you,' or 'did you notice this about your last throw.' "You just don't see that from a lot of coaches, especially now today when athletes are more specialized. It showed how special and unique of a coach he was. He handled it with such ease. He always knew exactly what his athletes needed, whether it was encouragement or a change in an athlete's step or more of a burst at the end (of a race). He was truly unique in that way." Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.