Bellefonte track & field coach won’t be reinstated despite pleas from community
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bellefonte’s school board voted against reinstating a longtime track and field coach.
- The coach, Chris Friedhoff, has not been publicly accused of wrongdoing.
- Community members said Friedhoff was a program cornerstone and a mentor for students.
A former track and field coach will not rejoin Bellefonte’s program despite weeks of public pressure and demands for transparency.
The Bellefonte Area School District’s school board narrowly voted 5-4 against reinstating former assistant track coach Chris Friedhoff following continued appeals from current and former student-athletes, coaches and program supporters. The final vote at Tuesday’s school board meeting came at the urging of board member Donna Smith, who requested a public vote that could provide closure for the community.
Ultimately, board members Nate Campbell, Jon Guizar, Holly Hopkins, Kristin Lyons and Kimberly Weaver voted against Friedhoff’s reinstatement. Jennifer Barnhart, Timothy Kessling, Joseph Yech and Smith supported the measure.
Before voting, Weaver applauded community members for engaging with the school board to advocate for a cause they deeply supported. However, she said the board must avoid allowing public pressure to outweigh its duty and instead “focus on the health and wellbeing of the entire district,” even if the choice is unpopular.
“Just as you are standing up for what you believe is right, I must do the same,” said Weaver, who cited confidentiality concerns and chose not to elaborate further. “I cannot, in good conscience, vote for this appointment.”
Community members have attended board meetings in recent months to advocate for Friedhoff’s reinstatement. Though many have demanded answers, Bellefonte administrators and school board members have not spoken publicly about the reasons the longtime coach is no longer with the program.
Friedhoff has not been publicly accused of any form of wrongdoing. Numerous parents, student-athletes and other community members have spoken before the school board to praise his professionalism and expertise as a track and field coach.
Friedhoff, who coached and taught biology in the district for 12 years, resigned last summer. He later learned he would not return as an assistant track and field coach when he was not listed alongside other volunteer appointments up for renewal at Jan. 20’s board meeting.
Guizar, the board president, also spoke before voting and said the school board does not publicly discuss personnel matters to ensure fairness for candidates and respect the privacy of involved individuals.
“What we can assure you of is that we are committed to selecting a coach who will support our students, uphold our values and contribute positively to our programs,” Guizar said. “Our decisions really are guided by what is in the best interest of the mission and vision of the district, our students and the long-term success of the district.”
Members in the audience at Tuesday’s board meeting audibly groaned and criticized the school board immediately following the vote. Dozens of people supporting Friedhoff shuffled to the exit of Bellefonte Area Middle School’s cafeteria, but one person raised his voice to offer a simple message to the board: “Pathetic.”
Bellefonte community backs longtime coach
Despite the school board’s reservations with reinstating the longtime track and field coach, community members described Friedhoff as a program cornerstone who played a key role in supporting the growth and success of Bellefonte’s student-athletes.
An online petition supporting Friedhoff’s reinstatement garnered 833 signatures since it launched in February. Junior high track and field coach Josh Cetnar — perhaps the campaign’s most vocal supporter — presented the petition to Bellefonte’s school board on Tuesday and urged members to back the coach.
“I know there are probably some board members who are on the fence about whether to approve Coach Friedhoff tonight, and to those people, I just want to ask you to consider our team and those who are here to support him tonight,” Cetnar said. “He’s an extremely important part of our program, and we’ve really missed him the past two and a half weeks that he hasn’t been able to be part of the coaching staff.”
Bellefonte’s outdoor track and field season began on March 2, leaving the program with a clear void as student-athletes ramp up for meets this spring.
Though Friedhoff wore many hats for Bellefonte’s team, he brought specific expertise with jumping events like long jump and pole vault. Cetnar said the program’s remaining coaches are doing the best they can to support student-athletes using some coaching materials Friedhoff left behind.
“It’s hard to lose someone as experienced and as senior as Chris,” Cetnar told the Centre Daily Times. “Jumping is a very specific skill. It requires a specialized skill set to reach elite levels, and that coaching expertise is really rare. Having it in the form of someone who gets along well with students and other coaches is even rarer. It’s a huge loss.”
Perhaps the strongest public testimony in recent weeks came from 2025 Bellefonte graduate Zane Hummel, a state medalist for Bellefonte’s team who was injured in a motorcycle crash and had a below-the-knee amputation. He said Friedhoff stuck with him and his family through an extremely challenging period and went above and beyond the typical duties of a coach.
“As you can see, I’m here tonight on two legs,” Hummel said at Feb. 3’s board meeting. “If you know the story of my accident and the loss of my right leg, what you may not know is what it took to fully get here: the fear, the frustrations, the days when giving up felt easier than moving forward. Coach Friedhoff showed up on those dark days, celebrated every small step forward, helped my parents get me to appointments and documented my journey — not for recognition, not for praise, but so I could see how far I’d come.”
Brian Hummel, Zane’s father, pleaded with the board at March 3’s board meeting and urged the district to allow Friedhoff to coach again.
“He’s changed people’s lives, and he’s changed my boy’s life after his accident,” Brian Hummel said. “I don’t know what you guys want. You have an exceptional coach who wants to coach, and he’s not being allowed.”
What happens next?
The school board’s decisive vote leaves Bellefonte’s varsity track and field program without an experienced jumping coach. Cetnar, the junior high coach, said he is not aware of any applicants or “coaches in the pipeline” contending for the position.
For now, Bellefonte’s track and field program will move forward with a short-handed coaching staff as student-athletes train and compete throughout the spring. Cetnar said the community must respect the school board’s authority in denying Friedhoff’s reinstatement, but advocates should be proud of the way they supported the cause.
“Chris was a really big piece of our program, but we have a strong program that will be able to survive this,” Cetnar said. “We’ll definitely miss him.”
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