Randy Wilson has seen his share of double gold-medal-winning performances throughout an incredible career as coach of the Central Cambria High School girls and boys cross country and track teams.
Wilson’s Red Devils programs are among the state’s elite on a consistent basis.
This time, however, Wilson has earned two golds on a more personal level. The Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame will induct him into the seven-member class of 2024 Saturday night at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial.
The hometown honor will be Wilson’s second hall of fame celebration in less than three months. The Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame inducted Wilson April 27 in Pittsburgh.
“It’s amazing. It’s unreal. It’s been a long coaching career,” Wilson said.
“I’ve been fortunate to be at a great place at a great time. I was at a school that embraced cross country like a crown jewel of sports. It was never thought of as a second fiddle.
“Cross country is not a glamorous sport. Let’s face it. But Central Cambria has treated it as one. I was really blessed to have some really good athletes throughout the years. I probably should say ‘great’ athletes.”
Wilson, who also is Central Cambria’s athletic director and a guidance counselor, has raised the bar while making the Red Devils cross country program a power, especially on the girls side.
The Red Devils girls program won five state championships in cross country, including three in a row from 2007 to 2009, and again in 2014 and 2018.
In 22 seasons, Wilson’s girls teams compiled a 239-5 record and .983 winning percentage.
‘So much energy’: The girls squad had 17 consecutive undefeated regular seasons in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference from 2004 to 2020 and placed in the top five at the PIAA championships during 11 of 12 seasons through the fall 2023 schedule.
“Randy has so much energy and love for the sport, it’s hard not to take that on for yourself,” said Carly Seymour, a Central Cambria graduate who went on to an All-American career at Duke University.
“What’s special about him is he makes running to be something that’s really fun and meaningful.”
A 2008 graduate, Seymour and her teammates helped Wilson put Central Cambria on the figurative cross country map. Now a resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, Seymour won two PIAA individual championships in cross country, was part of the Red Devils’ first state team title in 2007 and added four track state crowns to her resume.
“I think the time we were together, Randy was able to understand where each of our individual goals were, but also was able to make sure we were focused on achieving team goals,” Seymour said. “That’s what made it special. You bought into your own process, but you also were so invested in others.”
‘It takes a village’: The Central Cambria girls program won 15 straight Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference team titles and 21 of the past 24, with District 6 team championships in 17 of the past 18 years.
Wilson’s boys squad won the 2022 PIAA Class 1A championship and placed sixth in the state in 2023. His meet record on the boys ledger is 263-24, with 12 LHAC titles and 13 District 6 championships.
“It takes a village,” Wilson said. “It was a perfect storm. We had a school willing to support us, athletes willing to give it their all and parents willing to give their all. It became contagious. That’s how you build it. That’s how you win.”
In 2013, Wilson was named a Brooks Inspire Daily national coach of the year finalist – one of four finalists across the country. The Pennsylvania Track & Field Coaches Association twice named Wilson the state’s cross country coach of the year (2007, 2009).
The acclaim is rewarding, but that’s not the biggest priority for Wilson or his runners.
‘Do it for the team’: “The athletes didn’t do stuff for themselves,” Wilson said. “They do it for the team. That’s why people wanted to be part of it. The top kids on the team were just as happy for the kid who had the last-place time on the team. That’s what made it a successful program.
“I’ve had great assistant coaches over the years,” Wilson added. “Our teachers, our trainers, our nurses at the high school, our administrators. Our transportation people who get us to events. It takes so many people.
“I’m super-honored to get these awards, but I’m more honored that Central Cambria is getting these awards. It’s a we thing, not a me thing.”
Seymour, a child psychologist, credited Wilson’s approach to sports and academics with impacting her career outside the athletic arena.
‘Made such a difference’: “He’s made such a difference in not only my life, but in so many other individuals’ lives,” Seymour said. “I don’t think he fully understands the extent of the impact he’s had on the people around him.
“My running career was influenced by his passion for the sport. I got into psychology just by understanding the mindset you needed to be an athlete.”
Seymour emerged as a relatively unknown underclassmen to become one of the most successful runners in the state in her later years in high school.
Expectations followed her, and Wilson helped her maintain the proper perspective, she said.
“The pressure after my being successful was a lot on me,” Seymour said. “I kept feeling a lot of anxiety. Randy never put pressure on me. He told me, ‘We’re doing this because you love it.’ His mental aspect is why I’m in the field I’m in.”
The successful cycle continues both on and off the cross country course or the track.
“This is really a hall of fame for every athlete who ever ran for me,” Wilson said. “If I didn’t have the athletes willing to put it all out there for the team, I wouldn’t have success as a coach.”
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5083. Follow him on Twitter@Masty81.
