Coach Schmitz is entering his fourth year as Head Coach of the Panthers
coming from a prestigious background in track and field. He was a high
school All-American in the shot put and held both Salina Sacred Heart
High School's shot put and discus records. As a multi-time state
medalist he entered the historic track program of Kansas University.
Under a long line of historic throwers Schmitz left his own niche.
As a Jayhawk he ranked as high as 2nd on the all-time hammer list and
third on the all-time weight throw list. He was a two time All-Big XII
athlete and a conference medalist. In 2001 he was ranked nationally by
Track and Field News in the hammer throw.
In his three years as head coach at Neosho County Coach Schmitz had 77
national qualifiers, 26 conference champions, 47 All-Americans, and two
National Champions. The team finished the 2007 campaign with a fourth
place conference finish in X-Country, third in both indoor and outdoor track. The Panthers
finished the season with 60 top 20 rankings in the nation. The women
finished the season with a top ten national finish indoors and an 11th
place outdoor finish. The men finished the season with a 15th
place indoor finish and a 13th place outdoor finish. He has a
lifetime 92%
graduation rate of his outgoing sophomores and the NJCAA Coach's
academic team of the year with men's X-Country. Darin received his Masters Degree from the University of Kansas in 2004
in Science Curriculum. He is married to Kelcey and has two children, a daughter Emilly,
and a son Drew
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