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Kranicks Declared “Permanently Ineligible” to Coach by USA Track & Field

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Sports.

Art and Linda Kranick pose alongside student-athletes after being named the 2022 National High School Cross Country Coaches of the Year. Photo via the Saratoga Springs City School District.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Just two days before Christmas, USA Track & Field (USATF) banned former Saratoga Springs High School girls running coaches Art and Linda Kranick, rendering them “permanently ineligible” to coach.

USATF listed its reasons for the ban as emotional and physical misconduct.

The decision was announced nearly two months after the death of Art Kranick. Art and his wife Linda both officially retired from coaching in April.

The misconduct allegations against the Kranicks stem from a legal complaint filed in Oct. 2023. In that document, 1989 graduate Kristen (Gecewicz) Gunning said that the running program was “a toxic culture of control and abuse of middle and high school girls all in the name of winning.” 1999 graduate Lauren Hogan said that some aspects of the Kranick’s program “caused immense damage to me both mentally and physically.” An updated version of the legal complaint also included more than a dozen witnesses who made various claims against the cross-country and track program. The claims spanned from the 1980s to 2022.

Despite the allegations, the Kranicks never lost the support of the Saratoga Springs School District, which rehired them even after the abusive coaching claims. Many runners, students, parents, and other members of the community also defended the Kranicks in the wake of the legal complaint. 

In an interview with Saratoga TODAY in Aug. 2024, Superintendent Dr. Michael Patton said he did not have any concerns about the Kranicks. “I’ve been here for seven years and have gotten to know the Kranicks very well,” Patton said. He added that, at the time, the Kranicks had met all of the athletic department’s expectations.

In a statement released by the district following the Kranicks’ retirement, school officials said the running coaches’ “impact on our athletics and the larger realm of cross-country and track and field is unparalleled, and their departure marks the end of an extraordinary era in our school’s history.”

Following the USTA’s decision, Linda Kranick told The Daily Gazette that she intended to appeal the ruling. “This is an attempt by a few individuals to tarnish our reputation using lies,” she told the Schenectady-based newspaper.

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