Coaches

Coach Smith is in his seventh year coaching for Wayzata Track & Field coaching the short sprints, long sprints, and sprint relays in 2025.  Coach Smith returned to Wayzata as one of the most decorated athletes in Wayzata Track & Field storied history and still currently holds three school records in addition to many other top 3 event performances in school history. Coach Smith won 5 state event championships and set one Minnesota state record. He ran Track & Field in the Ivy League for Cornell University in Ithaca, New York while earning a business degree. Coach Smith currently is employed by Medtronic and can be reached at mike95asmith@gmail.com.   

Coach Trimberger starts his fourth year coaching the JV sprints for Wayzata in 2025.  Coach Trimberger  Wayzata High School. He is a 9th grade geography in the high school.  In addition to coaching track & field, Coach Trimberger also coaches the 9th football team and mock trial teams. Coach Trimberger is married (Shannon) with two sons, Owen and Tatum. He can be reached at tyler.trimberger@wayzataschools.org 

Coach Popp begins his seventeenth  year coaching at Wayzata Track and Field in 2025. During his time as the sprints and later distance coach, Popp coached 97 All State Athletes in the sprints and distances (36 relays and 12 individuals including six event championships in the relays and five runner ups from relays and individuals) and coached all three sprint relay teams to school records (4X200 in 2010, 2012, and 2013 -4X400 in 2011 and 2013 and 4X100 in 2013 and 2019). Coach Popp is also the boys cross country coach in the fall and has transitioned to coaching distance runners full time as the lead distance coach in T&F field as well. In his ten years as the boys XC coach his teams have finished as MN State Champions in 2023,  2022, 2021, 2017, 2016 as well as runner up in 2015. In six of those years, Wayzata XC club has qualified for the Nike National XC championship in Portland, Oregon. He was named the USATFCCA MN Cross Country Coach of the Year in both 2022, 2017 and 2016. He teaches communications in the high school. Prior to Wayzata, Coach Popp ran both cross country and track at North Dakota State University (North Dakota Agriculture School) in Fargo. He was a multiple All-State runner for Bowman (ND) High School being apart of two ND State Championship Cross Country teams and one ND state title (4X800) in the ND State Track & Field meet. He can be reached at Mark.Popp@wayzataschools.org.

Coach Jahn has been involved with the distance running program since moving to Wayzata in 1999. He worked closely with Wayzata’s last eleven State Championship teams in cross country (2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023). In both 2001 and 2012 was named MN Assistant Cross Country Coach of the Year; the only coach in MN history to receive the honor twice. In track, his athletes have had an equal amount of success, with All-State performers in every mid-distance event. Jahn ran for Grinnell College and received his MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He practiced anesthesiology for 20 years before retiring and turning to full-time coaching. He still trains and races regularly. He can be reached at drepj@msn.com.

Coach Clifton starts his third year coaching the boys and girls pole vaulters for Wayzata. He can be reached at  edward.clifton@wayzataschools.org 

Coach Heebink has been an assistant coach with the distance runners at Wayzata since 2011 and previously coached for 2 years at Watertown-Mayer High School. He ran at Coon Rapids High School and later went to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where he continued to run cross country and track. He continues to run today, having completed over 25 marathons, including 4 Boston Marathons. He can be reached at Brandon.Heebink@wayzataschools.org.

Coach Porter, once a Wayzata Track & Field athlete himself, begins his ninth year as coach of the Trojan throws in 2025. In his first year coaching the throws had the section 6AA champion in both the shot put and discus and has had a number of state qualifiers and place winners since. Coach Porter teaches economics and public policy in the high school. He is also the co-head 9th grade football coach in the fall.  He can be reached at Steven.Porter@wayzataschools.org

Coach Froehling is in his eleventh year coaching both the boys and girls weight throws in 2025. Coach Froehling attended the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse playing four years on the Eagle football team. He threw both the discus and shot put for Farmington High School. In addition to coaching the throws, coach Froehling is an offensive line coach for the Trojans football team as well as a coach with the Trojan Power summer weight lifting program. He can be reached at Benjamin.Froehling@wayzataschools.org.

Coach Giesen has been the jumps coach since the Spring of 2003. In that time he had coached 38 All-State Athletes including 6 individual MN State Champions in the jumps. Prior to Wayzata was a four year Track & Field letterwinner for St. Johns University. Ran hurdles, sprints, and jumps at Shakopee, MN High School. He can be reached at seang@appolis.com.

Coach DeBoer works with both the boys and girls specializing with the high jumpers. This season will be his tenth year coaching for the Trojans. Cody was graduate of the University of Northwestern in St. Paul where he played football and earned his education degree. In addition to teaching math in the high school he is a freshman football coach for the Trojans. Prior to Wayzata he was a teacher and coach at Henry Sibley High School. In his six years he has had nine state qualifiers in the high jump with six earning all state honors and one runner up finish.

Coach Miles had been coaching distance runners for 45 years (39 at Wayzata and 6 years at Cretin High School). He had been apart of seven Wayzata Track & Field State Champion teams as well as the head coach of nine MN State Cross Country Meet Championship teams (8 at Wayzata, 1 at Cretin). Miles has coached 55 All State distance runners in track (the number of All-State athletes has changed from only 5 per event in 1960's through today which is the top 9) including 13 event State Champions (6 individual and 7 relays). Coach Miles ran both Cross Country and Track at the University of Minnesota under the legendary Roy Griak and was a graduate of Cretin High School (now Cretin Durham Hall) in St. Paul where he was a MN State Private Schools Champion (4X440y). Coach Miles was inducted in to the MN State Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006 in addition to being named the MN State Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year in 2010. Coach Miles was named the National Coach of the year by USA T&F / Cross Country coaches association (USATFCCCA) in 2014, the first such time the award had been given out. In 2017, Bill Miles was inducted in to the MN State High School League Hall of Fame.