Five Coaches To Be Inducted in WCA Hall of Fame

The Wyoming Coaches Association will induct five new faces into their Hall of Fame this summer.

They include: Bill Lehr from Big Piney Mike Ragan from Lander Valley Bill Thompson from Cokeville Mike Lashley from Lingle-Ft. Laramie and Steve Holzer from Jackson Hole High School. Each has been in their field for years achieving great success.

Bill Thompson began his career as the head volleyball coach at Cokeville High School serving from 1989-1996 and as assistant from 1996-2008.   He is currently serving again as head volleyball coach and has also assisted with wrestling.   Cokeville’s volleyball teams have won nine state championships and four state runner-ups with Bill as head or assistant coach.  They have also won 11 regional championships.   Bill has served the WCA as volleyball representative and has also been named WCA Volleyball Coach of the Year 2 times and assistant once.  He was a finalist for NHSACA Coach of the Year in 2012-13.

Steve Holzer has been at Jackson Hole High School from 1980-2012 and was noted for his success in alpine skiing where his teams won 31 state championships as a head coach and 12 state championships as an assistant.  Steve also coached tennis and won two state championships in girl’s tennis.  Steve also served as an assistant football coach where those teams won two state championships.  He also served as an assistant in basketball and track where those teams also won two state championships.  Steve was the WCA Special Sport Coach of the Year 4 times also a finalist for the NHSACA Special Sports Coach of the Year twice.

Bill Lehr presently serves as the athletic director for the Big Piney school system.  His coaching career began in Gordon, Nebraska with stints in Gering and Morrill NE. as well, but his coaching success in Wyoming has primarily been as a track coach at Big Piney.  The Punchers won eight girls and 15 boys regional championships and five boys state championships with Bill serving as either head or assistant track coach.  Bill also served as an assistant football coach for many years and they won six state championships in football during his tenure as an assistant.  Bill was the WCA Football Assistant Coach of the Year in 1995 and 2003 and was also a regional finalist for the NHSACA Assistant Coach of the Year.  Bill has also received the NFHS award for Track Official of the Year.  Bill also served the WCA as secretary.

Mike Ragan began his coaching career at Wheatland High School as the head basketball coach where his teams won three state runner-ups.  He then moved on to Riverton and served as an assistant basketball coach and then on to Casper Natrona High School as head football coach and assistant basketball coach.   His 1985 Natrona high school football team was undefeated and won the state championship.  The Natrona basketball teams were successful also during his tenure as assistant as they won the state basketball championship that same year.  He has also had coaching stints at Kelly Walsh High School and Lander Valley where he has assisted with basketball and football.    He was WCA Football Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1990 and has served as a Shrine Bowl assistant and the North South basketball assistant coach in 1994 and 2012.

Mike Lashley has been at Lingle-Ft. Laramie from 1989 to the present where he has served as head volleyball, head boys track, assistant girls and boys basketball, assistant wrestling, and athletic director.  His boys track teams have won three state championships and two state runner-ups and his volleyball teams have won two state runner-ups and four conference championships.   Mike has won the WCA Boys Track of the Year two times and the WCA Volleyball Coach of the Year once.  He has also served on the WCA and WHSAA Board of Directors and has served as director of the Volleyball WCA Best of the Best Volleyball camps.