Mike Costello never ran cross country competitively.

He was a basketball player. He was part of the 1982 Cotter High School state championship team and went on to play at the University of St. Thomas.

Eventually, he ended up back at Cotter coaching basketball for 15 years (1993-2007) with a 241-144 record.

One day, Cotter athletic director Pat Bowlin asked him if he would be willing to coach the cross country team - probably hoping Costello would do it for a few seasons.

That was 14 years ago. Apparently, Costello isn't tired of it yet. Why would he be?

For the fifth time in 14 seasons, Costello has gotten his boys cross country team to the Class 1A state meet.

"To stay with it that long - for any coach, really - is rare," Bowlin said. "But Mike is someone who likes coaching, so that I'm not surprised about, and the team has done well under his tenure.

"He didn't have a cross country background, but he had a coaching and teaching background. With him coaching

basketball, I thought he was a natural for the job."

Asked if he thought he would ever coach cross country this long, Costello said:

"Absolutely not, but it's been a great experience. We were short a coach and Bowlin approached me and asked.

"I've really enjoyed it."

Costello, 45, isn't foreign to running. Of course, there's running in basketball and, "I've run in 10ks and things like that, but I've never been a competitive runner or on a team," he said.

Like any good coach, though, Costello learned and adapted. He just had to learn a bit more, and then adapt.

"I had a lot to learn when I started and still do," Costello said.

If you see the Cotter cross country team this week practicing for state, just wait a few minutes. Costello is there running with his team. He's just a few blocks behind.