Lancers make Tucson history with girls, boys state crowns
It was a special week for Salpointe Catholic boys and girls cross country coach Mike Urbanski, whose teams swept the state championship finals in both events.
It was the first time in Tucson history that a coach has produced state titles in both cross country races in the same year. Urbanski has coached the Salpointe girls team to state titles in 2016, 2017 and now 2020. A former Salpointe distance runner himself — a former Boston Marathon runner — Urbanski had the pleasure of coaching his grandson, Michael Urbanski, as part of the Lancers' boys state title team. Michael finished eighth overall.
'It was a pretty special day,' Mike Urbanski said. 'I'm really proud of how our athletes persevered through all of the pandemic ups and downs, stayed safe, and pulled together as a team. We know how lucky we were just to have a season.'
The Urbanski family is one of the most decorated in Tucson distance-running history. Mike's son, Joe, finished second in the state finals in 1995 and became part of Stanford's 2001 Pac-10 championship team. He is an attorney in San Francisco. His son Mike — Michael's father — was a former standout runner at Salpointe and is now the captain of the Rio Rico fire department.
Mike Urbanski led the Lancers to two state titles this week.
RON MEDVESCEK / DAILY STAR
