STORM CROSS COUNTRY STAFF

Coach Tim Ebers                                                              Head Boys/Girls

Coaching & Family:  Coach Ebers is in his 23rd year of teaching 6th grade social studies for the Elkhorn School District.  He was an assistant cross country coach for 4 years at Elkhorn High School and started the Elkhorn Running Club for middle school students.  Coach Ebers has also coached track at the high school level for 22 years.  He was the head boys coach at Elkhorn High (2006 – 2009) for 4 years and has been the head boys coach at Elkhorn South since it opened in 2010.  His wife, Katie, works in customer service at Fat Brain Toys.  They have 3 daughters, Landry (13), Jansen (11) and Briar (8). 

Coach Shannon Sortino                                                         Assistant Coach

Coaching & Family:  Coach Sortino is in her 22nd year of teaching Middle School Health.  She was an educator in Omaha Public Schools for 20 years and began teaching at Elkhorn Middle School in 2022.  Coach Sortino knew she had a passion for coaching after completing her athletic career at Northwest Missouri State University and receiving the opportunity to be the Graduate Assistant for the Cross Country and Track & Field teams while earning her Master’s degree.  She began coaching in OPS in 1999. Most of her responsibilities were for XC/T&F at Burke High School as an assistant coach and continued through the 2023 track season.  She has been married for 22 years to Michael Sortino who is the Director of Student Services for Gretna Public Schools.  Coach Sortino has a 19-year-old daughter attending the University of South Dakota, studying Pediatric Nursing.  

Coach Lincoln Parks Assistant Coach

Coaching & Family:  Coach Parks is in his 1st year of teaching Language Arts at Elkhorn North Ridge Middle School and his 1st year as an assistant for the cross country team at Elkhorn South.  Coach Parks graduated from Elkhorn South High School in 2019 and was a member of the cross country team.  In 2023 he graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha with his teaching degree.  Coach Parks is excited to return to his alma mater this fall and bring his previous experiences as a runner to a new generation of athletes. 

At Elkhorn South, our Cross Country program is committed to developing champions, both on and off the athletic field.  We believe a champion is one who lives by high ideals, sets realistic goals, and dedicates himself or herself to achieving them.

We celebrate the fact that Cross Country is a challenging yet rewarding sport.  We believe that running is a great metaphor for life because you get out of it what you put into it. The cross country athlete must develop a fair amount of courage and humility because running exposes personal strengths and weaknesses.  Because a high level of endurance is needed to reach your potential as a runner, training is expected through the summer months to prepare for the season.  We believe that the definition of success is what former legendary basketball coach John Wooden says, “It is having the peace of mind knowing that you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable of.” Athletes are encouraged to measure this success by the improvement and effort given to the team.  We believe that hard work and fun can always be emphasized together.   

A strong work ethic, perseverance, self discipline, commitment, and character are all honorable qualities that can be developed through participation in our Cross Country program.