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Tonganoxie High School fills several coaching spots

By Shawn Linenberger - | Oct 17, 2001

Vacancies for coaches at Tonganoxie were the norm during the last few months, but all coaching positions now have been filled. And most of the faces are familiar.

Brandon Parker will coach freshmen boys’ basketball, replacing Andy Gilner who now is assistant coach to David Walker, who succeeded Mike Webb as head coach earlier this year.

Parker also was hired earlier this year as assistant volleyball coach. His wife, Tiffany, became the head volleyball coach, replacing Kelly Alexander.

The girls’ basketball team will have THS football assistant David St. Cyr as its new assistant. St. Cyr was an assistant for the Haskell men’s and women’s basketball teams in Lawrence the last two years.

Kristel Lewis, who played college basketball at the University of Kansas, is the girls’ freshmen coach. Lewis was a walk-on with the Jayhawks and a two-year letterwinner.

“She brings a lot of knowledge to the program,” said John Lee, THS athletics director. “She’s not a yeller. She really instructs them.”

Lewis’ husband is the ninth-grade boys’ basketball coach at Southwest Junior High in Lawrence. She replaces Ursula Kissinger.

The basketball coaches were hired in the fall rather than the summer, which Lee said was important.

“We didn’t want to make any quick decisions,” Lee said. “All are very qualified. I foresee good things happening.”

Tonganoxie also added new positions. With the increase in participants, the soccer program expanded its staff by hiring coach’s aide Jacob Hoffines.

The most noticeable will be Darin Neas. The junior high assistant principal will become Tonganoxie’s first golf coach in the spring.

The addition of Neas means THS had seven coaching changes and two coaching additions.