Following 21 years of service at Lampasas High School, head cross country and girls’ track coach Trent Lancaster is retiring. PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE In 1964, Trent Lancaster set the Lampasas High School 120-yard high-hurdle record by skipping through the event in 14.4.

The record still stands today.

But Lancaster’s legacy is equally about bookmarks and starting blocks as it is benchmarks.

The lifelong Lampasas fixture is retiring after a 24-year career as a teacher and coach with the last 21 years spent in his hometown.

“I hope I’ve left good Christian values with the kids I’ve coached,” Lancaster said. “I’ve tried to maintain an even temperment as much as possible, but [with kids] that’s not always possible.

“Sometimes you just have to let off a little steam, but I don’t think I’ve ever done it in a way that downgraded them.”

Known for holding extremely high standards, the coach’s dreaded “bear crawls” were one of his favorite teaching tools.

While painful for his athletes, the exercises helped Lancaster instill values such as accountability, dedication and sacrifice.

He held the same approach in his classroom -- minus the bear crawls -- where he primarily taught world geography during his career.

“He’s just a good person, and he’s a good teacher,” said Joey McQueen, LHS athletic director. “His expectations are what I’m going to miss the most. He had high expectations for the kids.”

Despite retiring, Lancaster will not be pried away from his high school alma mater’s athletic events, as he plans to attend plenty of football games and track meets over the upcoming years.

The rest of Lancaster’s free time will be spent working in his vegetable garden, enjoying time with his family, playing guitar, fishing and slowly crossing items off his wife’s “Honey Do” list.

“I’ve got a list of stuff to do that should keep me occupied for at least a few months,” the coach said with a laugh. “But I’m not going to get in any big rush about it.”

A notorious early-riser, Lancaster even plans to delay his morning alarm a little longer.

“I’m going to have to try to learn to sleep late,” he said, noting that getting at up at 7:30 a.m. would be considered “way sleeping in.”

After attending college at Abilene Christian University, Lancaster began his teaching career at Lincoln Junior High in Abilene, where he stayed for three years before returning to Lampasas to run the local Western Auto for the next 17 years.

During that span, Lancaster began helping revive the LHS track program by working with the Blue Blazes summer track team before selling the auto parts store and embarking on his two-decade-long journey in teaching and coaching at the high school.

Ironically, in his final season at LHS, Lancaster almost saw his school record in the hurdles eclipsed, as senior Aaron Reyna posted a 14.53 time in the 110- meter hurdles at the regional qualifier event.

“I thought it might get broken this year, but Aaron had a little hard luck at the regional meet,” Lancaster said.

Even if the milestone fell, it would not matter.

After all, Lancaster’s record was only the start of his lifelong impact on Lampasas.