DARLINGTON — At its 41st annual Darlington Invite, the cross country team honored long-time head coach Arnie Miehe by renaming the course after him.

“It’s an incredible honor,” Arnie said. “It’s very humbling. It makes me think of all the hours, days, weeks and years that went into it — all the events and kids I’ve come in contact with.”

Since taking over  the program in 1982, Arnie has had nine state championship teams — eight for the boys and one for the girls — including six consecutive boys’ titles from 2011-2016. Another 39 teams went to state — 23 for the boys and 16 for the girls. For four straight years from 1993-1996, Darlington boys were state runners-up to Cochrane-Fountain City. In this 41-year span, he’s also had numerous individual state runners.

Two of those runners were his sons, Kent and Tyson. Tyson has run in the Olympic trials, and Kent currently coaches the Redbirds cross country teams.

“The recognition needs to be spread out,” Arnie said. “It should really be named the Miehe course. My wife and kids had as much to do with the success as I did. It was an entire family effort.”

But Kent was quick to turn the recognition back to his father.

“All the success we had started here, with him,” Kent said of Darlington’s home course and the annual Invite, which Arnie had begun years ago.

Darlington kept its successful streak at home with the girls finishing runners-up to Lancaster. Adalee Berget led the squad with her third-place finish. As a team, the Lady Redbirds, ranked No. 9 in Division 3 per Week 1 of the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Poll, ran faster than the 2023 squad that finished third at state.

“We are learning what good is,” Kent said. “The returners know what it takes to be good. We have a perspective of what we are working toward. The season is far from over.”