Originally written in 2004 for Jeric’s Lackawanna Sports
By Jeric Yurkanin
Normally, when someone asks you to name one of the greatest high school coaches in Lackawanna County history, several familiar names immediately come to mind.
Blakely football legend John Henzes.
Valley View’s Frank Pazzaglia.
Or even former Bishop Hannan basketball coach John Bucci, who produced a remarkable 171–47 record before retiring this year.
All three deserve to be remembered among the greatest.
But there is another name that belongs in that same conversation—a coach whose teams didn’t simply win meets. They ruled an era.
Have you ever heard the name Phil Tochelli?
For more than two decades, Tochelli developed some of the greatest high school track and field athletes ever to wear a Lakeland uniform—and some of the finest Lackawanna County has ever seen.
Tochelli had been coaching since Ronald Reagan entered the White House. Reagan served two terms, left office and eventually passed away—and Tochelli was still standing beside the track with a stopwatch in his hand, preparing another generation of Lakeland athletes to win.
So, when is this man finally going to receive the recognition he deserves?
When will Phil Tochelli be recognized as one of the greatest track and field coaches in Lackawanna League history—or perhaps even one of the greatest in Pennsylvania?
“He doesn’t get enough credit,” insisted former Lakeland sprinter Tony Prudente. “He is probably one of the greatest coaches in the state. They should have a track and field Hall of Fame, and he should be in it.”
The numbers make Prudente’s argument almost impossible to challenge.
During Tochelli’s time as coach, Lakeland’s varsity boys track and field program captured 20 Lackawanna League Class AA championships, won the Jordan Relays 19 times—including 13 consecutive titles—and collected eight District 2 Class AA championships.
In 22 years at the helm, Lakeland won 196 meets and lost only 19.
Tochelli’s overall coaching record stood at an unbelievable 210–24.
Read those numbers again.
Two hundred and ten victories. Only 24 losses.
That isn’t simply a successful coaching record.
That is a dynasty.
Few coaches in Lackawanna County—and perhaps very few throughout Pennsylvania—have ever produced numbers like those.
Yet Tochelli would be the last person to take all the credit.
There is an old saying: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
A coach can design workouts, correct an athlete’s technique and prepare the body for competition. But when the meet begins and the pressure rises, the athlete must possess the mental strength and desire to compete.
“Any coach can train a track star,” Tochelli said. “But you can’t make them mentally prepared for every meet.”
That leads to another question: How did Tochelli continue winning after graduating so many outstanding runners, jumpers and throwers?
How did Lakeland lose star athletes and then return the following season still competing for championships?
According to Tochelli, the answer always returned to the athletes.
“First, it needs to go back to the kids,” Tochelli explained. “If you don’t have the athletes, you might not be successful. I don’t care what kind of coach you think you are or what you do. You need athletes with the willingness to work and improve themselves on the track and in the field.
“Our kids work hard. Other schools have good athletes, too, but I think our kids buy into our program.”
That may have been Tochelli’s greatest accomplishment.
He didn’t build his program around one superstar. He created a culture that continued long after individual stars graduated. The names changed, but the expectations remained the same.
Work hard. Believe in the program. Compete for Lakeland. Win championships.
From 1994 through 2000, the Chiefs won 52 consecutive meets. They stood only one victory away from setting a state record before North Pocono ended the streak with a narrow 78–73 victory.
That meet may have turned on a split second.
Lakeland star sprinter Steve Wasch false-started and was disqualified from his event. One mistake, one disqualification and one winning streak that had lasted six years finally came to an end.
At the time, Lakeland had also lost only one home meet since 1992.
That defeat came against Abington Heights in 2002, when the Comets escaped with a 78–72 victory. Lakeland lost the 4×100-meter relay after Wasch, the conference record holder in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, pulled his hamstring while running the anchor leg.
But Lakeland’s depth quickly stepped forward.
One meet later, with Wasch sidelined, senior teammate Bobby Machiesky ran the 100-meter dash in 10.6 seconds against 2001 District 2 champion Greg Petrosky. At the time, it was the second-fastest 100-meter time ever recorded in Lackawanna Track Conference history.
That is what Tochelli’s program was all about.
When one athlete went down, another stepped forward.
The legacy also reached the biggest stage in Pennsylvania. Lakeland produced two boys state champions, Bobby Spechier and Joe Obloshny. On the girls’ side, Trina Carito had just made school history by clearing 5 feet, 5 inches to become the 2004 Class AA high-jump state champion.
Three state champions.
Twenty league championships.
Nineteen Jordan Relays titles.
Eight District 2 championships.
A 210–24 coaching record.
Do we really need people to vote on whether Phil Tochelli belongs among the greatest track and field coaches in District 2 history?
The stopwatch doesn’t lie. The championship banners don’t exaggerate. The record book doesn’t play favorites.
Phil Tochelli never chased personal recognition. He chased the potential inside every athlete he coached. He helped turn hardworking teenagers into champions and transformed Lakeland track and field into one of the most dominant programs Lackawanna County had ever witnessed.
When the history of District 2 track and field is written, Tochelli’s name should never be buried in a footnote.
It belongs near the top.
The numbers already made the decision for us.
Phil Tochelli wasn’t merely one of the greatest.
He was a legend.
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