Hall of Fame
John W. Altfillisch holds a treasured record in track at Coe. He was undefeated in the 440 in outdoor meets during 1940, 1941, and 1942. Coe was the Midwest Conference Champion each of those three years. As you would expect, he was Conference Champion in the 440 three times, and he was the Drake Relays Champion in the 880 relay in 1942. He was a member of the Coe mile relay team that set a record for Iowa colleges at the Drake Relays in 1942, the year he was team co-captain. His interest in track began at Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids and continued long after graduation from Coe. As a commissioned Army officer he served in the Panama Canal Department from 1942 through 1946. He coached the Panama Canal Department championship track team and was himself the champion and record holder in the 440 in 1943 and 1944, and champion in the 220 in 1944. After World War II he started his long career as a track coach by assisting Harris Lamb at Coe in 1946. He earned his master's degree from the University of Iowa, where he was a graduate assistant in track. He then joined the Clarinda, Iowa, Community Schools and coached there for 39 years, from 1947 through 1986. Among varied coaching assignments at Clarinda were junior high sports, head basketball coach, assistant football coach, track coach, and cross-country coach. He also served as athletic director and activities director, before his retirement in 1986. During his years at Clarinda, he coached three indoor State Championship teams and two State cross-country teams, as well as several individual State Champions. He was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame in 1987. With pleasure, we induct John W. Altfillisch into the Kohawk Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of a competitive career in track that extended from high school through military service and a dedicated coaching career that spanned four
