Coaches
It's a GREAT day to be an Eagle!!!
Head Coach:
Heather Hunting
This is Coach Hunting's second year coaching Cross Country at Collins Hill, and is excited for a season even better than last year's state-bound season. She is also head Track and Field coach here on the Hill, so make sure to ask about our spring sport!
Coach Hunting loves teaching Algebra and Geometry here at Collins Hill, and considers herself a "Mathlete". She has run three marathons and countless half marathons, as well as many shorter races. She has a husband and two grown kids...both of whom ran cross country in high school. In her off time you will find her running with her dogs at one of our parks!
This is her fifth year teaching at Collins Hill, and she recently earned her Masters of Arts in Teaching from GCSU.
Assistant Coach:
Laura Pifer
Laura comes to Collins Hill after a successful season coaching Mid-Distance at South Forsyth High School. The boys' team finished 3rd overall at State, and the girls came away with a sectional 3200m Champion and runners earning top 5 and top 15 in the state in the 3200m and 1600m.
Prior to coaching high school, she was an Assistant Coach at the University of North Florida for a Cross Country season.
Laura's running achievements include winning three national titles, qualifying for two Footlocker Cross Country Championships, and representing Team USA at the 2002 World Cross Country Championships in Belgium. In addition to Laura's national and international success she also was a 10x Utah High School State Champion. Laura earned a scholarship to University of Colorado at Boulder, where she was part of the 2004 National Champion Cross Country Champion team.
Assistant Coach:
Stephen Pifer
This will be Coach Pifer's first season with the Collins Hill Eagles. He comes to us with over 30 years' experience in the sport of track and field and cross country. Coach Pifer competed collegiately for the University of Colorado at Boulder where he was an 8x All-American, 2x National Champion (team won 2004, 06), and the NCAA National Championship Runner-up at 5,000m (2008). Post-collegiately, Coach Pifer competed in 3 US Olympic Trials and was twice ranked Top 10 in the US by Track & Field News.
Coach Pifer comes from a long line of distance running coaches. His grandfather John Flamer started the Cross Country program at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His uncle, Tim Flamer, coached him in high school.