Coaching

Caryn Gehrke

Coach Gehrke started running in elementary school, and was a 5-time Michigan state champ in high school and a 3-time Ivy League champ in college. She continued to train and race for club teams after graduating from Columbia University, and qualified for USATF indoor nationals twice. She has coached at the collegiate, high school, and club level, and still enjoys competing in local road races. Coach Gehrke is a physical therapist who specializes in athletes, especially runners. She also occasionally works as a substitute teacher at her kids’ schools and advocates for kids with disabilities through her work with AAPAC. She and her husband live in Ann Arbor with their 4 kids, and enjoy sports, music, and spending time outdoors as a family.

Mike Kessler

Coach Mike ran high school cross country and track at Saline High School and Eastern Michigan University, though his best running performance came after college with a 4:00 flat road mile at the Cherry Festival in 1994. He never did make it under that 4 minute barrier, so his son Hobbs took care of it for him when he ran 3:57 indoors as a high school senior. A former builder, Mike coached rock climbing at Planet Rock from 2013 - 2023, and has been coaching cross country and track at Skyline since 2019. He also coaches several pro runners, including his son Hobbs who placed 5th in the 1500 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics In addition to running, Mike enjoys fishing, rock climbing, and mountaineering.

Serena Kessler

Coach Kessler ran high school cross country and track in Western New York in the late 1980s, and continued her running career for four more years at Allegheny College. Post-collegiately, she has mostly focused on the marathon. Coached by her husband, Mike, she qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in a personal best time of 2:44:55 — good for 2nd place at the 2011 Detroit Free Press Marathon. She has continued to compete as a Masters and now Grand Masters runner. She has been teaching English since 1995, the last nine at Skyline, and has coached cross country and track at Skyline since 2020. Her son, Hobbs, runs professionally for Adidas, and her daughter Natalie is a sophomore at Michigan state where she runs cross country. Both Hobbs and Natalie ran for Skyline. Coach Kessler loves to drink coffee, read, write, and travel.

Jean Mrachko

Jean Mrachko completed her high school throwing career in New Hampshire, then spent a year in Paris, training in discus with the Racing Club de France, with aspirations to compete at the collegiate level. However, because the track & field team was disbanded while she was overseas, she instead joined the marching band and ski team during her time at Northwestern University. Coach Jean reconnected with throwing as a coach after college, and continued coaching from 1994–2002. In that time, she produced several state qualifiers, including state champion shot putters in Illinois and Vermont. She stepped back from coaching to serve as a collegiate throws official at the Universiy of Akron from 2003–2009. Following a long hiatus from track & field to pursue a doctoral degree and support her children’s activities, Coach Jean returned to coaching in 2023. She has since found joy in coaching at Ann Arbor Huron, Ann Arbor Skyline, and FLYY Track Club (Redford). She also restarted her own competitive throwing career in 2024, after a 35-year hiatus! Outside of the ring, Coach Jean is the associate director of a teacher preparation program at the University of Michigan. She lives in Ann Arbor with her husband and has 2 children, Abby (Skyline ’14) and Derek (Skyline ’20).

Fabian Rollins

A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, Fabian was coached by the legendary Bob Parks and also by Brad Fairchild, who was instrumental in many of the gains made during his time in the EMU program. Fabian was lauded as one of the best quarter milers/sprinters in the conference and still ranks in the top 10 on the all-time list at EMU. Fabian earned several berths in the NCAA championships, eventually becoming an All-American in the open 400m. His PB in the 200 is 21.12 (indoors) and 45.87 (outdoors) for 400m.

After EMU, Fabian went on to be coached by a Bronze medalist from Trinidad named Kent Benard. It was under his guidance that Fabian qualified for the Olympics and also recorded world Top 5 times in the 600m and 500m. Fabian was consistently ranked in the 400m on the world scene. He now finds his passion in coaching. Fabian resides in Ann Arbor with his wife and youngest daughter. His middle daughter is a collegiate track runner for University of Virginia, while his youngest daughter plays field hockey at Ann Arbor Pioneer, where Fabian is an assistant coach for track.

Ron Warhurst

Coach Ron retired from the University of Michigan in 2010 after coaching men’s cross country and track for 36 years. A native of New Jersey, he ran cross country and track for Western Michigan University. His team won the cross country national championships in 1964 and 1965. Ron has coached 6 Olympians including steeple-chase medalist Brian Diemer (1984) and 2-time 1500 meter medalist Nick Willis (2008 and 2016). From 1968 to 1970, Warhurst served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Navy Commendation Medal for service in Vietnam. In addition to coaching at Skyline, Ron is the coach of the Ann Arbor based pro group Very Nice Track Club. His son, Luke, a Skyline graduate, attends the University of Michigan. Ron lives in Dexter with his wife.