Photo Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Social Media

Hillcrest Academy head boys basketball coach Dwight Gingerich continued his climb into the rarified air of the Iowa High School basketball Coaches Association all-time career wins list Saturday by capturing his 700th victory in a 63-26 win over Rivermont Collegiate. He spoke after the game about what the number 700 means to him. “First of all, it means I’ve been here for a while. I’ve been blessed with a ton of players that have been willing to do what the current team has been willing to do. Go out, go hard, play together as a team, be pushed. None of the numbers like this happen without that kind of commitment and players that we have had come through the program all these years. I think back on year one, two, three, it’s really easy for me to still remember those guys and I appreciate them all. Assistant coaches have been a huge part of it too. Ron Swartzendruber has been a big part of all of this for a lot of years. This feels like something you celebrate with all of those people. That includes my family. I was a lucky enough guy to be able to coach a couple of my sons through this. There have been some really great moments and some really hard moments, like anything in life. I feel fortunate to still be in this role. I still enjoy it. There’s a lot of joy for me in doing this. I feel lucky to still do it.”

With the win against the Lions, Gingerich, in his 40th year at the helm at Hillcrest, became the sixth coach in the history of the IAHSAA to reach 700 wins. Along with being sixth on the all-time wins list, he is third among active coaches, trailing only Dan Beck of Easton Valley and Mitch Osborn of Harlan, and he holds the state record for most coaching wins at a single institution.

Starting with his first season in 1981-82, Gingerich has compiled a record of 700-210 at Hillcrest, a .769 winning percentage, second best among coaches in the all-time top 10 in wins. The Ravens have had just four losing seasons on his watch, none since 1996, a string of 25 consecutive winning years. In his time as head coach, the program has averaged 18 wins per year. His teams have won at least 15 games in a season 28 times and at least 20 games, 20 times. Gingerich’s teams have qualified for the state tournament in Des Moines 12 times, finishing as runner-up four times and winning the 1992 state championship. The Ravens will try to get Gingerich victory number 701, and their fifth straight this season Friday when they travel to Pekin.