Ooltewah High Announces New Head Coaches

  • Friday, July 20, 2018
David Fleming
David Fleming

Ooltewah High School has announced the lineup of new head coaches at the school for 2018-2019.  The new head coaches include girls basketball, cross country, wrestling, boys track, and softball.  “The coach appointments are a reflection of some of the positive changes taking place at Ooltewah High School for the coming school year,” said Bradley Jackson, assistant principal and athletic director at Ooltewah High. “We look forward to a great year for the Owls!”

Kerilyn Mongar, a 2006 Ooltewah graduate, is returning home to coach softball.  Mongar attended Tennessee Tech on a softball scholarship, where she started at first base. While at Tennessee Tech the teams she played on won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament and came in second in the Region tournament, losing to Alabama in the 2007 finals.  She graduated from Tennessee Tech in 2010 with a B.S. Degree in Human Ecology- Family and Consumer Science. Mongar was the assistant softball coach at Cleveland State Community College for her first coaching position. She started her high school career at Sequatchie County High School teaching and coaching in 2011.  Mongar has coached volleyball, tennis, and softball.  Mongar led She has also been an FCA Huddle coach.  She has worked at Sequatchie, Hunter Middle School, and East Ridge High School.  At East Ridge, her softball teams finished second in the district regular season and third in the district for three consecutive seasons.  She has taught Related Arts and Interior Design. ,

The girl's basketball program at Ooltewah will be led by Lester Galyon, a veteran basketball coach in Tennessee and Georgia.  Galyon has 36 years experience coaching basketball with girls and boys programs.  He has been a head coach of boys programs for nine years and spent 21 years coaching girls teams.  Galyon has won over 500 games at the varsity level.  Gaylon led his 2013 girls basketball team at Gordon Lee to the Class A state title.  It was the first state championship for Gordon Lee.  His team finished 25-7 overall that season.  He was also a 2013 finalist for the Scrappy Moore Coach of the Year award given by the Times Free Press. “ I am excited to be the new girls’ basketball coach at Ooltewah High School,” Galyon said. “Even though we are in a very tough district, I hope to build a competitive team.”  Galyon and the Ooltewah girls are working hard this summer, to get ready for the season. “It will take some time to get there, but I see a lot of potential for the future,” added Galyon.

Ooltewah teacher David Fleming is the new cross country head coach.  Fleming has taught JROTC for three years and coached the JROTC drill team for all three years.  Fleming is dedicated to physical fitness. He lettered in physical fitness and track each year in high school and maintained the Master Fitness level while serving for 25 years in the U.S. Army.  Fleming enjoys exercise and running and competes in 5K, marathon and triathlon events.

James Manning, another graduate of Ooltewah, will take over as head coach of wrestling at the school.  Manning is a member of the Class of 2011 for the Owls.  He played football and wrestled at Ooltewah High.  He wrestled all four years of high school and was a two-time region champion, three-time state qualifier and placed third in the state.  Manning learned wrestling under Coach Wendell Weathers and J.D. Dunbar.  He played college football at Carson-Newman and graduated in 2015.  For the last two years, Manning has been an assistant football and wrestling coach.

The boy's track program will be led by Les Boyum, a 37-year coaching veteran.  He will also be the weightlifting coach at Ooltewah.  Boyum was an assistant football coach and head track coach at Sequatchie County High School last year.  At the high school level, he has also coached at East Ridge High School, and South Gibson High in Medina, Tennessee.  Boyum coached high school sports for six years in Texas and spent one year in Arkansas.  He coached 26 years at the collegiate level with both football and track experience.  Boyum coached at Arkansas Tech University, The University of Arkansas, Missouri Western State University, Missouri S & T, Austin Peay and the University of Minnesota.   Boyum and his wife Sheri moved to the Chattanooga area to be closer to family.

James Manning
James Manning
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