Giltner’s Lockmon honored as CNTC coach of the year

For the first time in years, Giltner’s Nancy Lockmon didn’t attend Monday’s Central Nebraska Track Championships while wearing a stopwatch around her neck. 
She still left the event with some hardware. 
Lockmon was honored as the 2021 Central Nebraska Track Championships coach of the year, an accolade that came as a complete surprise to her and was absolutely deserved, even if she wouldn’t admit it.
 “This was a surprise,” Lockmon said after the trophy presentation. “I don’t know that I’m deserving of it but I have to say I have had several groups that have helped earn this for me. I’ve coached some great athletes at Giltner that have an inner drive instilled by great parents.”
Giltner’s days of complete domination during the spring season may be over (for now, anyway, stay tuned) but as her accomplishments were read to the crowd, I will easily vouch they’re hall of fame caliber. 
The Hornets planted a flag at Omaha Burke during the 2015 season when both of its boys and girls teams swept the team titles. 
Oh, what a run it became for the Lady Hornets. 
Giltner’s girls went on to win five consecutive Class D state championships from 2015-19. The possibility was very real for a sixth straight had last season not been cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic. 
“During that time, our kids really loved track and field,” Lockmon said. “I try to do the best I can and it’s great to have kids that push themselves to that point. I can’t say enough about the kids.”
No other Class D school in Nebraska state history has won more than five consecutive state track titles. In fact, the only more dominating stretch of time came from Hastings St. Cecilia, winning the first seven girls team titles ever from 1971-77. 
If you have a hard time wrapping your mind around that, there are two classes of athletes that passed through Giltner’s halls who won a state title all four years of high school. 
During Giltner’s run of dominance, 13 of Lockmon’s tracksters have gone on to compete at the next level, while other successful track athletes are also competing in other sports. 
Lockmon has said it before during several state championship-winning interviews. “Success breeds success.”
Giltner’s run of success on the track is hard to understand from a school just off I-80 with a total enrollment K-12 just north of 200. 
There’s also the challenge of piecing together a bulletproof team across every event year after year, all the more challenging the smaller the school. 
Despite all that, Lockmon always had a way of putting every piece of the puzzle in the right places, squeezing the most out of the four-person relay races and stretching those special athletes across several events over a short period of time during that special Saturday in May. 
“Track and field is a challenge. There’s 17 different events and we’re a small school,” Lockmon said. “I really need to thank my assistant coaches, too. You have to have great coaches to do this. It’s not a one-man job. We’ve spent a lot of time figuring out how to put the wheels together because we compete as a team, not as individuals. We support each other. Luckily, we pushed some right buttons along the way.”
It also bears repeating because it makes the accomplishments all the more impressive -- they don’t even have a track at their school to practice on. Their athletes run around the village and county roads. 
But it worked. It still does -- they’re proud of it, all of it. Lockmon is a big reason for that, even if she refuses to take all, or any at all, of the credit. I’m here to hand it out. 
During that same stretch of time, there were athletes who didn’t compete in other sports -- they were just tracksters. 
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, or being a three-sport star, either. 
The fact of the matter is, Lockmon turned Giltner into a track and field school and a program that kids wanted to be part of. 
Whether or not she ever coaches a state championship winning team again, it won’t affect how she’s perceived in the eyes of those that competed for her, coached alongside her or watched her teams compete from the cheap seats. 
She’s a hall of fame coach who put together a hall of fame run that may or may not be replicated again, no matter the size of the school. 
And hopefully, there will be plenty more seasons in the future wearing that stopwatch around her neck at a track meet near you. 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.