Stancell Stepping Away

COACH WHO CREATED CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM STEPPING AWAY FROM THE JOB

Photo by Rick Peck Darbi Stancell is stepping down as head coach of the McDonald County High School cross country team after being named the program’s first coach in 2006. She will remain a math teacher and assistant track coach.
Photo by Rick Peck Darbi Stancell is stepping down as head coach of the McDonald County High School cross country team after being named the program’s first coach in 2006. She will remain a math teacher and assistant track coach.

Rick Peck

Special to McDonald County Press

From not having a program to a top-four finish at the state championships, the McDonald County High School cross country program has had one constant.

From its beginning in 2006, Coach Darbi Stancell has been the only coach the program has known.

Next year, a new leader will be at the helm. The McDonald County Board of Education accepted Stancell's resignation at its Nov. 12 meeting.

"I am at a different chapter of my life," Stancell said of her retirement. "There were no grievances whatsoever. My stepson has a little boy and Bruce (husband, Bruce Stancell) and I enjoy being grandparents. We want to spend more time with him. Our son (Kord) has gotten married and there might be other grandkids in the future -- hopefully. I still love the sport, but I will be 50 this year and it is time for me to slow down and spend more time with my husband and family."

Stancell will continue to teach math at MCHS and will retain her job as assistant track coach.

"I love teaching math," Stancell said. "That is what I went to school to do. I want to have more time to devote to the department. Being assistant track coach is not nearly as demanding on me personally as is cross country. It is all summer long and all weekends during the fall. We are busy nearly every Saturday in the fall. I do hope that the opportunity arises for me to coach junior high."

She said it was former athletic director and current assistant principal Jeff Wilkie who had the idea to start the cross country program.

"Coach Wilkie was very active in getting cross country at McDonald County," Stancell said. "He knew it would be a pretty cheap sport to add and appeal to a different group of athletes. He knew I ran in college. I was (then) the junior high volleyball coach and had been for 11 years, but I applied and got the job."

Once the program was started, it became a success. It took just five years for Stancell to build a program that brought home a fourth-place finish from the state championships.

"Having my name with some of the greatest athletes I have ever coached on the wall in the gymnasium that I love so much means the world to me," Stancell said. "My dearest friends and family were at state watching as those boys accomplished that."

But it is not just the state-level athletes that Stancell enjoyed coaching.

"I have had many athletes that might not have been all-state that are just so dear to me," Stancell said. "I would not trade the last 10 years for anything. Nothing has given me more pride than being the McDonald County High School cross country coach."

While leading the MCHS cross country program, Stancell has also served as a leader in the sport statewide.

"I was proud to represent all of southwest Missouri (more than 90 high schools) on the cross country advisory committee at MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Athletics Association)," Stancell said. "That work included voting on classification issues, race procedures, uniform codes and just clarifying the rules and taking care of any grievances."

See stancell page 3B

Not only did her athletes and teams earn awards, Stancell was named the Southwest Missouri Class 3 Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year three times. She was also named the Southwest Missouri Class 3 Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year.

"It has been a fun ride," Stancell said. "There are no regrets. With any coaching job you are going to have your ups and downs and you are not going to make everybody happy, but for the most part it has been a dream come true. I was glad I got to start and be a part of the program and I hope all of our times will be remembered fondly."

Stancell said she could not have the success she had without the help of others, including the school board, administrators, assistant and junior high coaches, parents and the community.

"When I asked for an additional coach because of numbers the board hired one without delay," Stancell said "They were very supportive of starting a junior high program to help the high school program. I hope whomever they hire for the position continues to get the support I did."

Stancell said Tim Kilby, the first junior high school coach and a volunteer at the varsity level, has been a "long, dear friend." Rustan Crockett, the current junior high school coach, became Stancell's first paid assistant three years ago before becoming the school's junior high school coach. Henri Whitehead served a year as junior high school coach before becoming the current assistant varsity coach.

"The community has embraced cross country. Our tent was a donation from businesses. Our goodie bags that we get every year are filled with items donated by businesses. We have tried to make our community proud, but we are very proud of our community and how they supported us."

Stancell said it is with mixed emotions she is stepping down.

"This is very bittersweet," Stancell said. "But like you have heard from other coaches, there is always a class you want to hang on for, but I am a faithful person and I believe God was telling me it was time. I had a tribute the other night at my last all-area meeting. The legendary Joe Bill Dixon (track and cross country coach at West Plains) talked about me and thanked me and I got a round of applause from all the Class 4 coaches. It was a great ending."

Sports on 11/19/2015