The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows girls track team enters the 2025-2026 season under familiar leadership, as longtime coach and community figure Craig Warnke takes over the program. Warnke, who also serves as vice president of the district’s school board, brings decades of coaching experience, primarily coaching boys track teams, but steps into the role after assisting with the girls team during part of last season.
Last season, MaKayla Beisel was the team’s lone state qualifier. While Beisel has graduated, Warnke says her impact on the team remains.
“We’ve had a few girls in the summer put in some pretty good time getting ready for the season,” says Warnke. “They’re still young athletes, so like I said, my sophomores, we’ll see what they give. We had some girls that ran at a pretty good level last year. I lost MaKayla Beisel, who is definitely a ringer, a state medal winner, but a lot of girls could see her passion for it and how she worked at it, so we’re trying to develop that same passion in these girls right now. So if that gets instilled in them, I’m pretty excited about where some of these girls will go.”
As the season gets underway, Warnke says he’s excited for the journey the season brings as he returns to a head coaching position.
“Like I say, I’ve worked with boys all my life,” says Warnke. “It’s been a learning experience already. I’m excited about it. It’s been fun to work with these girls so far. And yeah, we’ll see what the journey brings for the old guy.”
The team’s next meet is on Tuesday, March 24 at the Wartburg Indoor track meet.
