Coach Kernell Retires After Memorable Run

Marie Kernell, who led the SJCS girls cross country team to 11 state championships and started the school’s track program, is retiring after 14 memorable years with the Knights.

Coach Kernell led the girls cross country team to a state runner-up finish in SCISA in her first year, in 2007, and then to back-to-back SCISA state championships. Then she led the team to a South Carolina High School League record nine consecutive state championships (six in Class A, then three more in AA) — completing an incredible run of 11 state championships in a row!! And the team has been state runner-up each of the past two years, which means she and her girls have never left a state cross country meet empty-handed!! Her teams also have won seven region titles, and she has earned numerous state and region Coach of the Year awards.

Coach Kernell also started the track program at St. Joe’s in 2012, a program that has won three boys state championships, three girls state runner-up trophies, and one boys region title.

She has volunteered for the S.C. Track and Cross Country Coaches Association as Division Rep and then as secretary for a number of years, and she served as an assistant coach and then head coach for the Shrine Bowl Run.

Most important is the care and love Coach Kernell has shown for her girls, the guidance she has provided, and the lasting impact she has made on the school and its students over the years.

Congratulations, Coach Kernell, and thank you for your outstanding years of service to St. Joe’s!!

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