On Jan. 30, former Boardman track coach Dave Pavlansky will be honored by the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches in Columbus. Pavlansky will receive the Ed Barker Award, which is the highest honor given by the OAT&CCC who has done the most for the sport.

Pavlansky won’t be the only local to get time in the spotlight. Former Boardman thrower Adrianne Blewitt Wilson will be inducted into the OAT&CCC Hall of Fame during the banquet.

Pavlansky got his start as the Spartans’ boys track and field and boys cross country coach. He spent 11 years coaching the Spartans, winning seven district titles and six conference championships. His teams competed in 14 national championship meets and produced two Nike All-Americans in indoor track.

During his tenure in the fall, he developed two all-state runners in cross country and four Reebok regional qualifiers.

From 2008-10, Pavlansky was the statewide coordinator for Team Ohio, the OAT&CCC’s senior all-star teams, who competed against Michigan and Indiana in the Midwest Meet of Champions. Prior to that, he was an assistant and head coach for the men’s team. In 2007, he received the Fred Daffler Career State Coach of the Year in boys cross country.

He co-directed The Running Summit, a series of “super” clinics for the coaching and running communities from 2013-16. It was approved for professional development for members of the NSCA, USA Track and Field, USA Triathlon and Athletics Canada. The series featured five clinics per year in Seattle, Dallas, Chicago, Morristown, N.J., and Columbia, S.C.

Now, Pavlansky serves as the meet director for the Spartan Invitational – which is held at Boardman High School and is one of the largest cross country meets in the midwest — and the OHSAA Northeast Regional Championship, which is also held at Boardman.

Over the years, the Spartan Invitational has grown to attract thousands of runners from not just Ohio and neighboring Pennsylvania, but from schools as far out as Virginia.

But Pavlansky’s job isn’t done when the spring rolls around. He also serves as the Coaching Educator for USA Track and Field. And since 2013, he is the Regional Coordinator for Coaching Education in the Midwest for USATF, directing or instructing schools across the country and certifying 6,500 coaches through USATF’s Level 1 program.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pavlansky and his crew were chosen by USATF to pilot the first international online Level 1 curriculum. He is also part of a chosen group to instruct sprints, hurdles and relays at USATF Level 2 schools.

Pavlansky has twice received the Ron Buss Service Award from USATF. The award is given to one coach annually “whose career has a distinguished record of service in leadership roles, teaching, strengthening curricula, as well as advising and mentoring coaches. This person is a leader whose counsel others seek, and who has selflessly given his/her time and talents to the profession.”

The OAT&CCC Hall of Fame banquet will be held at the Hilton of Easton in Columbus. The event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.