SPOKANE, Wash. — A coach who transformed a grass field into a championship program will receive the ultimate honor when Ferris High School dedicates its track and field facility to Herman Lee “Herm” Caviness on Wednesday.
Caviness coached at Ferris from 1963 to 1982, compiling a 184-28 dual meet record and 27 Greater Spokane League and District Championships, according to school athletic records. Under his leadership, Ferris won one boys state track championship, two boys state cross country championships and earned eight Washington State Trophy teams, school officials said.
The coaching community inducted him into both the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1994) and the Washington State Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1996). He was named Washington State Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1983.
Caviness also served 36 years in the Washington Air National Guard and raised four children with his wife, Jeraldine, according to family members.
“The world lost a great man,” former athlete Richard Lalonde said in a Spokesman-Review tribute following Caviness’s death in 2023 at age 88. “He was a molder of champions, but he prepared you for life.”
The school will hold the dedication ceremony at 2:30 p.m. at 3020 E. 37th Ave. to honor the coach who built Ferris athletics from hand-scored lanes when the school opened in 1963, according to school officials.
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