Brebeuf's Knerr Named Coach of the Year

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The Circle City Conference is proud to announce Brebeuf Jesuit’s Karl Knerr as our first-ever Coach of the Year. Knerr currently leads the boys and girls cross country and track and field programs. As a 1974 graduate, Knerr is Brebeuf’s most-tenured coach and is deserving of this award based on his approach to coaching with a transformational purpose. All four of his programs are inclusive, yet remain highly competitive. Most importantly, he lives out the mission of Brebeuf Jesuit as a man for others who does all things for the greater glory of God.
The Brebeuf Jesuit Braves cross country teams opened the year by sweeping the Circle City Conference Championships. A dominating season was capped by the girls team qualifying for the state finals, in addition to the two individual qualifying runners from the boys team. The girls team ran to a school-best fourth-place finish in Terre Haute. Katherine Modrall ’18 achieved the same feat, finishing fourth individually.
Brebeuf Jesuit’s girls track and field team roared through the regular season, capturing another Circle City Conference championship in the process. The Braves would go on to finish in second place at the state finals in Bloomington. Individually, Brebeuf runners won state titles in two events and finished in the top four in three others. On the boys side, Christian Stevens (who was one of the two qualifying cross country runners) qualified for state in the 3200m run.
Two of Knerr’s runners received exceptional recognition. Semira Killebrew ’19 (winner of the 100m dash and member of the winning 4x100m relay team) was recognized as the Gatorade State Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Modrall was awarded the IndyStar’s Marion County Female Athlete of the Year.
“This is an incredible honor for Coach Knerr and our community. We are blessed to have someone leading our programs that believes deeply in the mission of Brebeuf Jesuit, who models the values we strive to instill in our student-athletes, and leads with a transformational purpose,” said Brebeuf Jesuit Athletic Director Ted Hampton. “This award is well-deserved and by-product of the hard work that Coach Knerr and his staff continually put in to provide our student athletes the opportunity to be successful.”
This fall, Knerr will be inducted into the Brebeuf Jesuit Athletic Hall of Fame. He has been named Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches (IATCCC) Coach of the Year for boys and girls multiple times, named National Federation of High Schools Coach of the Year, and will likely be an IATCCC hall of famer.
The decision process for the Circle City Conference Coach of the Year calls for each school to nominate one coach. Athletic directors, principals and the Circle City Conference Sports Information Director deliberated over the nominees before a final vote was held. After thoughtful consideration, Karl Knerr’s respected career as a coach and mentor of student-athletes, combined with Brebeuf’s outstanding 2017-2018 seasons, made him a fantastic choice to be the first recipient of this award.
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