If a girl at Palatine High School decided to run cross country or track and field, she was going to be guaranteed two things: she would be part of a winning team and she was going to be well coached. The main reason was she would be under the tutelage of head coach Steve Currins. For 19 years, Coach Currins led his cross country and track and field teams to new heights and made them a perennial state power. In cross country as well as track and field, Coach Currins’ accomplishments are staggering: 4 team state championships, 11 state trophies, 32 sectional titles, 19 regional titles, and over 50 conference titles. In the process, over 80 different athletes have achieved all-state honors, including 20 state champions. Besides being a savvy tactician who consistently put his girls in a position to be successful, Coach Currins was a master at motivating his athletes, pushing them beyond what they thought they were capable of doing. His winning legacy is exemplified not only in his teams, but his individual honors as well. Coach Currins was inducted into the Illinois Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 1997. He has earned six Illinois Coach of the Year honors and was a finalist for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Girls Track Coach of the Year in 2002.