Three years ago, the Almena-Northern Valley boys' track and field team helped Chuck Fessenden put an exclamation mark on a remarkable 43-year coaching career. 

Fessenden had announced earlier in the year that he would be retiring following the 2019 school year.  

That year, the Northern Valley track team had fought illness for a good part of the spring, but the Huskies came on strong late in the season.  

"Then we got to the end of the state track meet and we were scoring pretty well, and then it came down to the four-by-four at the end," Fessenden said.  

Indeed, the Huskies' 1,600-meter relay made it a memorable send-off, winning the event to clinch the Class 1A team championship. The 2019 track and field title was Fessenden's seventh state championship overall -- three in eight-man football, three in track and field and one in basketball.  

"That was really special," Fessenden said. "We had won the state basketball championship the year before. Then, track, that was going to be the last thing I coached. We knew I was retiring. We didn't really expect to win track. 

"Then it rained that track meet and it lasted three days and we end up finishing on a Sunday afternoon. It was a really good way to go out." 

His latest trip to Cessna Stadium was another momentous occasion for Fessenden, who was inducted into the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame during the state track and field meet on May 28.  

"It was nice to be recognized for coaching for 43 years," Fessenden said. "And we had quite a few fans, people there who I've coached before, and parents, so it was pretty special." 

Fessenden grew up in Clifton and went to college at Kansas State University before getting his start in teaching and coaching at Northern Valley.  

"One of my fraternity brothers got a job coaching at Northern Valley, and he was basketball coach," Fessenden said. "Then they had a football opening, so that's how I ended up at Northern Valley and got my start in coaching. 

"I never really thought about staying there for as long as I did. We got it going and we had pretty good players and it just got to where you hated to leave and disappoint some of the kids that were coming up. Then I got married and my wife (Jennifer) is from Long Island, which Almena and Long Island are unified to make Northern Valley. It's a pretty good place to raise kids. Time went by pretty fast, actually." 

Fessenden had one of the most versatile high school coaching careers in Kansas, finding success in football, basketball and track and field.  

"You enjoyed one sport while we were doing it, and then the season got over and you started on another one," Fessenden said. "At that level, it's all the same kids all the time.

"I was just happy to be coaching anything. Once I got into (coaching), football was kind of the easiest because you had a lot more control of what was going on, on the field, whereas basketball, the kids had to make quite a few decisions on their own on the floor. So, I thought football was maybe a little bit easier to coach, but I enjoyed coaching both of them, and coaching track also." 

The winningest coach in Eight-Man history in Kansas, Fessenden compiled a 292-142 record with state championships in 1986, 1987 and 1990. The Huskies also had four runner-up finishes under Fessenden.  

Northern Valley won a staggering 41 consecutive games from 1985 to 1989.  

"We had a lot of talent," Fessenden said. "We had a lot of speed and we had pretty good numbers at that time, too. Just exceptional kids. They came from good families and were really good kids.  

"It just breeds winning. The next senior class, they don't want to be the ones that stop the streak, so they're always working hard. It just becomes your culture after a while. They're going to come in to work hard and they're going to be winners. That was a really special time. I think when it's happening you don't realize how hard it is to do that. Once it's no longer happening, you start to realize how really special that was." 

Fessenden was one of the initial founders of the Kansas Eight-Man Football Association and the Eight-Man All-Star Game. Fessenden also went out on top in the last game of his football coaching career, guiding the West to victory in the 2019 Eight-Man All-Star Game. 

The football field at Northern Valley is named in Fessenden's honor.  

Even in retirement, Fessenden is still heavily involved with the school and the community. He regularly substitute teaches, drives a bus to activities, referees junior high football and basketball games and operates the clock at high school basketball games.  

Fessenden also helped coach pole vault this season.  

"It's a small community, so you're pretty well still involved with the school all the time," Fessenden said.