Elyria Sports Hall of Fame: In it for the long run, Chuck Lynch was part of Elyria Catholic boys cross country program's success for nearly 50 years

If one word best describes the Elyria Catholic boys cross country program it's continuity. That's where Chuck Lynch comes in. Continuity and Chuck Lynch. When it comes to EC boys cross country, they're pretty much one and the same since Lynch has been a fixture with the program for nearly half a century. A member of the Panthers' 1972 Class AA state runner-up team, Lynch began his coaching career at EC as an assistant for 11 years. He coached under Tom Mahl (1976), Steve Currier (1977), Dick Elsasser (1978-85) and Mark Talarek (1986) before taking over in 1987. Lynch then guided the program for the next 33 years before stepping down after the 2019 season. He remained an assistant under Matt Barber for another year before totally stepping away from the program. "The stability of the program is as important as anything," said Lynch, who will join Eric Barnes, Tracy Sprinkle, Lindsey Behne Groomes, Danny Reaser, the 1984 Elyria West girls 400-meter relay team and the 2010-11 Elyria Catholic girls basketball team in the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame's 2025 class that will be inducted Saturday at Lorain County Community College. Mark Meecha will receive the organization's Distinguished Service Award. "I'll bet you there's been 20 athletic directors since I first started out helping with that program. There's only been half a dozen coaches for cross country. "Continuity and stability have been key to many programs around Lorain County, like Terry Kemp at Amherst (36 years), Rob Juergens at Avon Lake (27 years) and Jim Reynolds when he coached Avon (47 years, 32 with the Eagles). They're all rock solid." Lynch's 45 years on the job make him the longest-tenured high school boys cross country coach in Lorain County history. His success makes him one of the best. Lynch's 2009 team was the Division II state runner-up, finishing a mere five points behind defending champ Peninsula Woodridge and nearly preventing the Bulldogs from getting a three-peat. Lynch's son, Ryan, was EC's No. 5 runner at state that year. The following year the Panthers were fourth at the Division II state meet. EC also finished ninth at state in 2008, 10th in 2001 and 11th in 1999. As an assistant, Lynch was part of teams that won state titles in 1977 and '78, finished second in '79 and '83, eighth in '84, 13th in '80 and 15th in '82. Twenty-three teams that he was associated with advanced to the regional meet. "I was a young guy back then," Lynch said of the start of his coaching career. "I really absorbed everything that they (Elsasser and Mahl) were trying to do at the time. Obviously, it was working and I just kind of continued it. The continuity they first started and what I was able to continue with is a whole lot different than somebody coming in cold and doing their own thing." Lynch ran track for four years at Elyria Catholic but didn't come out for cross country until his senior year. Still, he was a key contributor to the Panthers in 1972 as their seventh runner during the season and fifth at state where they finished a close second to Chardon (105-115) in their state tournament debut. The EC boys won Class AA state titles in 1973 and '74 then finished third in 1975 prior to Lynch's return to the program as an assistant in 1976. The Panthers missed qualifying for state that year by 16 points but rebounded to win Class AA state titles in 1977 and '78 and finishing second in '79. "The biggest thing that I got from them was there's no substitute for hard work," Lynch said of Elsasser and Mahl. "But you can do that and have fun. What I brought at the time was let's have some fun. Let's really work hard and then at the end of the day we'll see what we come up with at the end of the year. "So that was just what the program was. It was people that were coming in expecting to work hard and we had fun doing it. Working hard was the norm. There were some goofy kids. We were a bunch of oddballs that just came together at 3 p.m. every day and worked hard and they had fun doing it. That's kind of what helped in that transition. There were the things that they started we were able to continue to do and be successful." Lynch grew up in Elyria and attended St. Mary's through the eighth grade. He commuted to EC when his family moved to Medina. He continued his running career at Lorain County Community College under Jack Wilhelm in 1973, recording the third-fastest time in LCCC history while also setting the LCCC course record of 21:43. He tied the 5-mile record of 27:00 at a meet in Ashland and qualified for the 1973 NJCAA national championships in Tallahassee, Florida, finishing 183rd in 20:55. "When I was an athlete that EC we at first didn't understand what we were doing," he said. "We were just out there having fun. We thought we could win and we didn't see any reason why we couldn't. We worked hard so you know those things can come together. With Dick and Tom it was a good blend of coaching and athletes with a good mindset. That's exactly what it was. They were younger coaches that we enjoyed being around and we didn't mind working hard. "Their personalities lend itself to being great coaches. We learned hard work and had fun. There was just a good connection between everybody. It was fun and guys were motivated." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.