Coaching Staff

As a 9th grader in 1977, I finally found my sport the first time I raced the mile! After 4 years of running track and cross country in Jefferson Twp, NJ (Go Falcons!) I went on to compete for the mighty Bison of Bucknell University while getting a BS in Chemical Engineering. Despite working as a Chem E following graduation, my heart was always in running. I completed my first marathon in 1984 and went on to compete in the Boston Marathon 4 times. I continued to race on the road, focusing on 5 and 10k’s. In 1992 my husband Bill and I left Hanover, NH for the Pacific NW and the lure of windsurfing in the Columbia River Gorge.

After years of managing achilles tendonitis, and with the growth of my family, my running career came to an abrupt end. Since that time, I’ve quenched my competitive thirst with mt bike and cyclocross racing and have enjoyed years of wind surfing and snowboarding as well as downhill and cross county skiing. Bill and I have traveled the country and beyond with our bikes in tow and plan to continue those adventures for as long as we can!

I began my coaching career in 2007 as the inaugural volunteer cross country coach at Liberty Middle School. In 2009 I moved up to CHS as a volunteer XC coach and was hired as an assistant in 2012. After a couple of years as a volunteer track coach, I was hired on as the Distance coach in the spring of 2013. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching some exceptional runners over the past decade, many of whom have continued on as NCAA athletes. I’ve also had the pleasure of coaching exceptional kids who I hope will be lifelong runners.

Coaching high school athletes for me has been like running the mile for the first time...it’s just the right fit. I look forward to getting to know the kids on my current roster and helping them to realize their potential as distance runners. But more importantly I hope to help them realize their potential as people with a lifelong love of running.

Just a month after graduating from Western Oregon University, I got a call from my former high school football coach—he wanted to know if I’d be interested in coaching a 5th/6th grade tackle football team. I said yes, and after that first season, I was hooked. I was having so much fun coaching that I realized I wanted to work with kids full time. That led me to pursue a master’s in teaching, and four years later, I was hired at David Douglas High School as both a first-year teacher and the head JV football coach.

Two years in, I added track and field to my coaching résumé. Over the next 17 years, I coached multiple sports at both the high school and middle school levels. My roles included head and assistant coaching at the varsity, JV, freshman, and middle school levels, as well as serving as a program coordinator.

In the spring of 2018, I made the tough decision to step away from education to help with our family business. While necessary, it was difficult—my heart has always been in teaching and coaching. Thankfully, in the summer of 2021, a perfectly timed opportunity came along and I accepted the head track and field coaching position at Liberty Middle School. In 2024, when the boys’ head coaching position at CHS opened up, I couldn’t resist the chance to return to the high school level and bring things full circle.

I’m incredibly excited about the future of track and field in the Camas School District. From the foundational work of our amazing elementary PE teachers—who organize a 5th grade track and field meet that introduces every student to the sport—to our thriving middle school programs at Liberty and Skyridge that together field over 450 athletes, all of it builds toward a high school program where student-athletes can compete at their fullest potential.

Track and field holds a special place in my heart because it truly offers something for everyone. I feel fortunate to work alongside such talented assistants and incredible student-athletes. I’m looking forward to many more memorable seasons.

Go Papermakers!

"Track and field is not so much about the legs. It's about the heart and mind."
—Don Kardong

Coach Benton is a Camas Track and Field alumni. She participated in long jump, triple jump and sprints while at CHS and was coached by The Coach Wise. Coach Benton returned to the Camas School District in 2019 when she began teaching Spanish and leadership at Discovery High School and Odyssey Middle School. She has since coached volleyball and track & field for the papermakers. More recently Coach Benton became an assistant track and field coach at Liberty Middle School. She enjoys the opportunity to coach and create relationships with athletes from the first day they step onto a track until they reach the highest level of competition. 

My first taste of track and field started for me in 4th grade. I started high jumping because my older brother did it and like any younger brother I wanted to do what he did.  As a freshman in high school at McLoughlin Union (Milton-Freewater, OR) I initially went out for tennis that spring. I lasted only one day as I realized very quickly I really belonged in track and field.  I never looked back!  I watched the high jump school record be broken that year. I thought that was really cool. I spent the next 4 years focused on getting that record. I was able to equal the school record in 1991, my senior year.  I achieved it at an all state invitational at Clackamas Community College. Upon winning the meet, I was recruited and would go on to join their team upon high school graduation.

At Clackamas Community College I truly learned track was a team sport. I was fortunate to be a part of a historic track and cross country season in which our teams won 5 NWACC titles that school year. This would eventually earn our team a spot in our college Hall of Fame several years later.

I eventually wrapped up my college career jumping at Western Oregon State College.  While there I was coached by Berny Wagner, former coach of Dick Fosbury (Yes, of the Fosbury Flop fame). He was once Oregon States’ track coach and earned other numerous titles such as ‘76 jumps coach for the US Olympic Team.

Following my track career I got involved with coaching at Valley Catholic High School in 1997 in Beaverton as it was near where I worked at Nike. I coached high jump, long jump, triple jump and javelin there for 6 years until the birth of my daughter, Stephanie.  Fast forward to 2015… I volunteered one year at Washougal High School and I was hired as the jumps coach the next year.  Since that point in time, I thoroughly enjoyed my coaching experience and the athletes and people I have met in the local community while in that position. I am very excited for the future now getting to be a part of the Camas track and field program.

I love track and field for its pureness as a sport.  I was fortunate along my path to be coached by so many great people along the way.  I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to a sport that has been a major part of my life for so long. I love sharing my passion for the sport as I get to work with young athletes while helping them to realize their potential along the way.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result” ~ Anonymous

As a high school senior track and cross country athlete, I knew I eventually wanted to coach track and cross country, but the process to which I would get there was pretty ambiguous. It wasn’t until my college coach, who was also a Kinesiology professor, suggested I take Sports Psychology that I realized I wanted to use coaching as a way to walk with students and support them as they learn about life and how to develop their craft. I graduated from Northwest Nazarene University in 2022, where I ran cross country, and the 5k and steeplechase on the track. During my sophomore year, I got to be on the team of women qualifying for NCAA DII Nationals for the first time in school history. That whole season was one of the most life shaping experiences I’ve ever had, and has made me realize the power of sports beyond just coming to practice and competing. My personal coaching philosophy is centered around the principle that athletes are whole people, they aren’t machines without emotions, varied life experience, or the ability to develop and grow. Though cross country is my secret favorite because of the unique team dynamic, I love the variety of students’ skill sets (and personalities!) that are a part of a track team. This past fall, I was an assistant coach for cross country, and it was a BLAST! It’s been a huge blessing to be here at Camas for the official start of my coaching career. We have some awesome athletes, parents and coaches!

Dan Kielty has been a history teacher at Evergreen High School since 1991.

Dan graduated from Linfield College after playing fours years on the football team.

Coach Kielty has coached football for 35 years. He stared coaching with Jon Eagle at Evergreen in 1991. In 2005, he went to coach football with legendary coach Bob Holman.

In 2013, Dan started coaching sprinters. In 2018 he moved over to pole vault to replace the very successful vaulting coach, Rod Raunig.

Dan has lived in Camas since 1995 and still teaches at Evergreen High School. 

“Whatever gifts I possess are meant for others”.  

“The abilities I have been given are not meant for my edification but the lifting up of the people I encounter. There is no better place to do that than high school athletics.”

Coach Magner comes to us with over 20 years of coaching experience at different levels and sports. As a 3-sport athlete in high school, he started his coaching career at summer camps where he fell in love with coaching and teaching. 

Magner was recruited for football, basketball and track & field, and in the spring of 2000 he recorded the top javelin throw in the U.S.A. with a mark of 214-9. He signed with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he competed from 2000-2005.

He was All-ACC in the javelin all 4 years at UNC and an academic All-American. Magner was a four-time point scorer in the javelin at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a highest placing of 2nd and 3rd in 2005 and 2000 respectively. 

Currently, coach Magner works at Lacamas Lake Elementary school in Camas as a 5th grade teacher. In addition to CHS track and field, he also coaches track and field, volleyball and basketball at Skyridge Middle School.

I have dedicated over four decades of my life to the world of track and field, particularly in the realm of throwing events. With a career spanning 45 years as a high school throws coach, my passion for shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer is evident in every aspect of my coaching and personal endeavors.

My journey in the world of throwing began during my own athletic career. I competed for eight years at both the high school and collegiate levels. My experience as a competitor laid the foundation for my coaching philosophy, instilling a deep understanding of the technical nuances, and mental fortitude required to excel in the throwing events while still just plain old having fun with the sport.

One of the highlights of my coaching journey was the privilege of twice attending the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, renowned as the Olympic training site. While I was immersed in an environment of excellence and surrounded by top-tier athletes and coaches, I was able to hone my coaching skills, further enriching my ability to nurture talent and foster a culture of excellence within my own coaching sphere.

Coming soon