Bishop Ahr reaches state title game
Baseball team’s coach surpasses 300-win milestone
By Harry Thomas
Correspondent
EDISON — Bishop George Ahr High School coach Scott Runkel has been part of more than 500 victories in his 24 years at the school.
In May, Runkel, a health and physical education and driver’s education teacher, won his 300th game as head coach of the Trojans’ baseball team. He has also won 127 meets as the cross country coach and 72 as wrestling coach.
Runkel is the second Bishop Ahr coach to celebrate his 300th coaching victory this spring. Stan Domin, the coach of the softball team, also reached that milestone in May.
But Runkel, who has guided his baseball teams to 305 wins, might have experienced the biggest victory of his career when Bishop Ahr outlasted St. Augustine Prep, Richland, 16-15 in the Non-Public A South Jersey final June 6. Bishop Ahr, the fourth seed, beat top-seed Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, 4-2 in the semifinal round June 2.
Bishop Ahr, 18-6, will play defending Non-Public A state champion Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, for the state title at 11 a.m. June 10 at Toms River East High School. Seton Hall Prep beat Immaculata, Somerville, 5-0 in the Non-Public A North final June 6.
Runkel led his team to the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title in 1996, and beat Union High School in 2000 when the Farmers were ranked No. 1 in the state.
“It’s really a labor of love,” said Runkel, 52, of Old Bridge. “I’ve had great players and have had wonderful support from people like Sister Cyndi (Babyak, campus ministry), Mike Wolfthal (the school’s athletic director) and Sister Donna (Trukowski, principal). I’m just really grateful for the opportunity I’ve had here.”
Keys to victory
In his 24 years as head baseball coach, the team has had just two losing seasons.
“We don’t recruit here at Bishop Ahr; kids come here because they want to,” said Runkel. “What we’ve tried to do over the years is just outwork our opponents. We take the talent we have and just do our best.”
Road to success
Runkel, a father of two, graduated from Cedar Ridge High School, Old Bridge, then from Marietta College in Ohio, where he was a center fielder. He got his first job in education as the first physical education teacher at Our Lady of Victories School, Sayreville. He worked there for three years before moving to a position in the Irvington School District, then back to Old Bridge, where he taught driver’s education. When that program was eliminated, he found his way to Bishop Ahr in the fall of 1982.
“I just happened to know somebody at Bishop Ahr and they said they had a job opening for a physical education and driver’s education teacher. I was hired right away,” said Runkel, who also coaches the Bishop Ahr Baseball Club team in the Middlesex County Junior American Legion League during the summer.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law