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.

Tanner May

Coach Tanner, originally from Nashville, Tennessee, was a two-sport athlete at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. For the Colonels, he played football and competed on the track and field team as a sprinter and long jumper. Today, Coach Tanner attends the University of Michigan where he is currently completing his Ph.D. in Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering. In addition to his aspirations as a scientist, Coach Tanner currently continues his track and field career as both an athlete and a coach: simultaneously running for and leading the sprints program at the University of Michigan Running Club while also serving as the head sprints and jumps coach at Concordia University - Ann Arbor, Skyline High School, and the Very Nice Track Club community team. Coach Tanner also volunteers with the Adaptive Sports and Fitness team at UofM, helping to deliver competitive track and field training to individuals with disabilities. In his (scarce) free time, Coach Tanner enjoys learning about cars, space, and philosophy.

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.