Rapp to wrap it up at season’s end

Jack Mendelsohn | The Chronicle

After 19 seasons at the helm of the Mason High School cross country program, head coach Tom Rapp is set to retire at the conclusion of the fall season.  He will leave behind an impressive resume of team accomplishments. 

Under Rapp’s direction, the program has won four Ohio High School State Championships, four state runner up finishes, countless district and regional titles along with 12 Greater Miami Conference championships. 

A Division I All American and team captain at Penn State, Rapp had to learn early on how to manage the differing levels of runners at the high school level. 

Rapp was able to introduce the sport to runners who were just searching for self improvement as well as catering training regiments to those who had championship ability. 

This combination along with dedicated assistant coaches has helped him build one of the most successful programs in Ohio. 

Rapp believes  runners of all ability levels have been attracted to the program because of the hard working and welcoming culture established by his coaching staff. 

“Sometimes people need an arm around their shoulder and you need to give them a little grace,” Rapp said. “I hope I learned how to do that a little bit better than if I hadn’t been a coach.”

As Rapp prepares to step away he hopes his influence and dedication to the young people in the cross country program will remain with them as they move forward in life whether they are competing or running a few laps on the weekend. Rapp firmly believes that it doesn’t matter how fast a runner can run, it’s about their growth individually and with their teammates.  He said he hopes that his athletes use what they have learned about dedication and commitment to help them in their adult lives, even after their running careers have ended.

“We have a purpose statement that our athletes have learned to be hard working,

team oriented and be able to perform under pressure,” Rapp said. “Our hope is that they can learn the skills to use for the rest of their life.”

During his tenure as coach Rapp has numerous memorable moments to look back on but one that stands out above all others is that first state championship in 2006. 

“All our state championships are special, but that first one, that was special,”Rapp said, “When they finally said that Mason had won, I sprinted about 100 yards to where our guys were waiting, and we had a big dog pile.”

Rapp said he has loved every minute of his time as the head coach at Mason but after a great deal of thought, he felt it was time to retire. 

“I knew it was time,” Rapp said, “It’s still going to be hard to say goodbye, but

the decision was pretty clear.”

With another roster of hard working and dedicated runners, Rapp hopes to cross the finish line of his career on a positive note. 

“I feel like I’ve been able to give back to the sport that’s given a lot to me,” Rapp said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”