Photo Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Social Media

Hillcrest Academy head boys basketball coach Dwight Gingerich hit a big milestone during the recently completed season as the Raven program continued to roll on his watch. Gingerich, just concluding his 39th season at the helm, recorded his 700th career win on December 11th, 2021 with a 63-26 rout of Rivermont Collegiate at Hillcrest Union. The Ravens finished 15-7 overall and third place in the Southeast Iowa Superconference North Division with a 12-4 mark in league play. His career record of 711-216 leaves him sixth on the all-time wins list in Iowa history. The 711 wins in his career are the most for any coach in state history at a single school. His .767 winning percentage is second all-time among that top six list. His 927 games coached is the second fewest to reach that win total.

Gingerich’s teams have averaged 18 wins per year against just six losses over his 39 seasons. Only four times have his teams finished under .500, none since 1996, a string of 26 consecutive winning records. Gingerich’s squads have won at least 15 games in a season 29 times and at least 20 games 20 times. The school has had 12 state tournament teams during his tenure, finishing runner-up in Des Moines four times and winning the 1992 1A state championship. In 2015, Gingerich was honored by the Iowa High School Athletic Association for his 600th win during the boys state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.