OATCCC Hall Of Fame
Steve Stickley

In 1975 Steve Stickley began his coaching career at Fort Loramie Local Schools. After 5 years of coaching Track (1 year of Jr. High and 4 years of High School Boys) he took a break. But Track and Cross Country kept drawing his attention and in 1984 his opportunity to coach Cross Country became available and his 23 year Cross Country and 24 year Track & Field coaching tenure got back on track at Fort Loramie Local Schools. It didn’t take long, one season, for Steve to turn Fort Loramie into an emerging dominant Southwest Ohio Class A/Division III program to be recognized. Then in his second year at the helm Steve guided Fort Loramie to prominence as a state level program to be recognized and respected for the remainder of his 23 year career. Between 1984 and 2009 the Fort Loramie Cross Country program captured 24 Shelby County Athletic League Championships (13 girls, 11 boys), 19 District (Sectional) Championships (11 girls, 8 boys), 9 District Runner-Up finishes (5 girls, 4 boys), 8 Regional Championships (4 girls, 4 boys), 2 Regional Runner-Up finishes (2 girls), 3 State Runner-Up finishes (girls – 1985, 2001 & 2003), 1 State Championship (girls – 2002), 3 Third Place State finishes (boys – 1999, 2002 & 2003), 21 State Championship qualifying teams (11 girls, 10 boys) and a combined Cross Country program record of 5,396 wins and 1,679 losses for an outstanding 23 year program 76% winning percentage. The highest Track & Field team finish was 1 Fourth Place State finish (girls – 2009). In addition to the team successes Steve coached 15 individual State Cross Country qualifiers (8 girls, 7 boys), 22 individual State Track & Field qualifiers (17 girls, 5 boys) and 10 Girls State Track & Field Relay qualifying teams. Steve’s Track & Field efforts produced 17 All-Ohio Individual honors (12 girls, 5 boys) and 10 All-Ohio Girls Relay team honors, 1 individual Girls State Runner-Up finisher (Janel Olberding – 400 meter dash – 2009) and 3 individual Boys State Champions (Ted Hoelscher – High Jump – 1988 and Doug Heitkamp – High Jump – 1993 & 1994). Steve Stickley is to be commended for creating not one, not two, not three, but four highly successful programs during his time at Fort Loramie High School. The consistency of his programs over his 24 year coaching tenure is nothing less than remarkable. Steve created the base and formula of success for a Fort Loramie Cross Country and Track & Field program that continues to produce years after his retirement from coaching. Steve received in 2003 the National Federation of State High School’s 2002 Mideast Sectional Coach of the Year for the Sport of Cross Country. In recognition of the outstanding consistency and repeated accomplishments of Steve Stickley the OATCCC is proud to recognize him as a 2023 Ohio Association of Track & Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee. Congratulations Coach Steve Stickley!