FWB's Moller-Fields honored as XC coach of year

Seven years ago when Lissette Moller-Fields first took over the Fort Walton Beach cross country program, the situation was in near dire straits.

“We barely had enough to field a girls team,” Moller-Fields recalled with a slight laugh. “We had six girls. Fortunately for us, they were strong girls.”

Fast forward to the present day and not only are the program’s numbers up – last season Fort Walton Beach fielded three complete teams on the girls’ side and four on the boys – but it has ascended atop the state polls as one of its very best. On the heels of a second-consecutive No. 3 finish at state by the girls and a No. 4 finish for the boys, Moller-Fields has been named the All Sports/Daily News Cross Country Coach of the Year.

The honor serves as only the latest testament to the time and effort put into the program by Moller-Fields, as well as her assistant and husband, Jeff Fields.

“I think the best thing is we’re seeing more and more of our kids taking on running as a life-long recreation,” Moller-Fields said. “A lot of them are deciding to run at the secondary level. It’s not just a sport they do in high school, it’s become a life-long obsession, which is great.”

That newly established passion for running has paid off.

As a team, Fort Walton Beach finished second (girls) and third (boys) at districts, best among the area schools, and then matched those respective finishes at the regional meet before capping the season with a strong state run.

Individually, six of the Vikings’ nine seniors are looking to run at the collegiate level. Just last month, at the FACA All-Star race, an event that pits all-star teams from the state’s four regions against one another, the Vikings excellence was once again on display. In an event in which no one program sent both a boy and a girl, Fort Walton Beach sent five runners.

Not surprisingly, Region 1, which consisted of the Viking runners, won both races.

Vikings’ senior Luc Lawrence, who was one of the five Fort Walton Beach runners named to the Region 1 team, pointed to Moller-Fields’ ability to treat every one as equals as the lasting image he will carry with him well after his days at the school reach their end.

“She always likes to help her athletes do the best they possibly can, regardless of their ability level,” Lawrence said.