Kaitlin “KK” Helfen, who helped lead the Brewer High School indoor track team to the first of two consecutive Class B indoor track state championships in 2019 as a student, has been named her alma mater’s new head coach for indoor track.
She had been the assistant under Jason Horr, who stepped down at the end of this past season. She has also been a volunteer assistant for the outdoor track program.
As a student-athlete at Brewer High, Helfen won the pole vault competition in 2019 with a vault of 9-feet, 6-inches. She was one of two Witches to win individual events, with Sophie Inman being the other in the high jump.
It was Brewer’s first state girls indoor track title since 1999. The Witches defended their title in 2020.
The Witches have 10 state championships in indoor track, nine in girls and one in boys.
The first seven girls state titles came in Class A which is where the Witches are now.
The girls finished 10th among 24 teams in the A state championship meet this past winter and the boys wound up tied for 23rd among 28 schools.
In addition to her high school coaching career, Helfen also leads the Brewer Parks and Recreation Department’s summer track program.
She was the only applicant for the position. She is a teacher at Brewer Community School.
Brewer High School Athletic Director David Utterback said in a press release that while interviewing Helfen for another position in the district, it became evident that “her passion for coaching and leading young people was something we needed to take advantage of.”
“She has a championship mentality, and it is rewarding to see our young student-athletes want to come back and lead the programs they made successful,” he said.
