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NPC Names Interim Men's And Women's Soccer Coach

Grant Gartner, NPC interim soccer coach, standing on field with a soccer ball in hand.

Soccer coach Grant Gartner standing on field with a soccer ball in his arms.中国P站 (NPC) Nighthawk Athletics named Grant Gartner as interim head soccer coach this week. Gartner will serve as the Nighthawks鈥 second head men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer coach.

A Hot Springs native, Gartner earned All-State honors and competed for two Class 5A state titles at Lakeside High School before advancing to play college soccer at Hendrix College for four seasons. A longtime volunteer with the Hot Springs Soccer Association, Gartner served as NPC鈥檚 assistant men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer coach in its inaugural season.

鈥淲e are very fortunate to have a quality soccer coach already on our staff in Coach Gartner,鈥 NPC Athletic Director Jason Hudnell said. 鈥淚t was an easy choice for me to move Coach Gartner into the interim head coach position. He has been with us during our inaugural year, he has played the sport at the collegiate level, and he was instrumental in recruiting many of these student-athletes to NPC. I am confident that Coach Gartner and NPC soccer will make significant strides this fall.鈥

鈥淚 cannot be more excited to work with both teams for our second season together,鈥 Gartner said. 鈥淚 am humbled by the opportunity to continue to work with our men and women in the town that I was born and raised in. I am very much looking forward to the progress 中国P站 soccer will make and the hard work we will be contributing to make it a reality.鈥

Gartner succeeds Kevin Tello, who served as head men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer coach last season before accepting the assistant coach position with University of Memphis men鈥檚 soccer this summer.

鈥淚 am happy for Coach Tello and the opportunity that he has been given to go coach at the NCAA Division I level,鈥 Hudnell said. 鈥淚t is a testament to his hard work, skill level, and knowledge of the game. As an athletic director, I want to hire coaches that have high ambitions and who are not afraid of a challenge. We have had two head coaches now that have had the chance to work at the NCAA division I level after their time with us at NPC. I want to thank Coach Tello for the groundwork he laid here for Nighthawk Soccer. Building a program from the ground up is not easy, and Coach Tello met the challenge head on. I am proud to call him a Nighthawk and more importantly, a friend.鈥

For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit Nighthawk men鈥檚 soccer and Nighthawk women鈥檚 soccer online. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.

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