Ben Pauli, Charger Staff
“A coach’s main job is to help the athlete perform at his highest
possible level and to try to put him in a position where he can achieve his
greatest possible level of success.” This is the coaching philosophy of
head cross country and track coach, Bill Wrasman. “I believe a coach can
only teach an athlete the fundamentals and try to give him a chance at success,
but the athlete must take care of the rest of it.”
Wrasman has been honored by the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association as the
Region Cross Country Coach of the Year. 
His 2001 Cavalier team was by far the most successful cross country team in
the history of the school, winning the first ever Region title and racing to
a 41-0 record within Region 4-AAA, a strong region with distance running powerhouses
such as Oakland, Riverdale, and Tullahoma. They were ranked as the #1 AAA cross
country team in Middle Tennessee.
Wrasman took over the cross country program in 1996 and continued to build
on the foundation laid by former coach Rose Brogan. His team has grown progressively
more competitive over the years and is considered one of the powers of cross
country in the Midstate.
Although the program is young compared to many of the teams they compete against,
they are building a winning tradition.
“In my first few years as coach, other teams didn’t pay us much attention.
Gradually, however, we have been more and more competitive to where teams always
took notice of how much better we were getting. In the past two seasons teams
have been scared to see us come, and they dread having to come to our course
and run against us,” Wrasman said.
“I am pleased to be honored by the TACA. However, I must realize that
I didn’t win this myself. It is an honor won for me by my team. Everyone
associated with this program should be proud of the success reached by this
year’s squad.” Wrasman believes that the runners, the parents and
especially the leaders of the team deserve as much credit as he. “To me,
if you are Coach of the Year, that means you have Runners of the Year.”
Congratulations to Coach Wrasman on a stellar coaching career at Cookeville
High School, spanning back to 1974.
This is certainly a well-deserved honor, and best of luck to him and the cross country in the weeks and months to come.