Hall of Fame: Charlie Appell (Estancia)

Richard Dunn

As the master guru of stopwatches on dirt trails, Charlie Appell,

it seems, has spent a lifetime on the run.

Estancia High’s foremost authority in boys and girls cross country,

Appell has become synonymous with the Eagles’ distance runners, including

track and field, since 1990.

Appell’s roots in Orange County running can be traced back four

decades, when he helped launch the Orange County Track Club through the

Westminster High cross country program.

OCTC, the oldest running club in Orange County, currently has about

120 members and welcomes runners, joggers and walkers of all skill level.

And, with inexpensive dues and personal coaching from Appell, many

former Estancia runners are card-carrying members of the OCTC and

participate in the club’s annual 5K and pancake breakfast fund-raiser at

Fairview Park in Costa Mesa, an event benefiting the Estancia cross

country and track teams.

A coach known for giving his heart and soul to the kids, Appell gives

counsel on training for races ranging from the 400 meters to

ultra-marathons.

But Appell, whose coaching career started while serving in the U.S.

Army and stationed in Germany (circa 1972), needed some fancy footwork to

finally land in the military.

“I was drafted three times,” Appell said. “The third time I went, the

first two times ... “

During a nine-month period, Appell suffered a broken jaw, a hernia and

an auto breakdown in the middle of the desert on his way to reporting to

the army the first time.

Once situated in Germany, Appell met his future wife, Silvia, at a

wine tasting. “Within three hours of meeting her, I knew I was going to

marry her,” he said.

Later, Appell was a full-time athletic equipment manager at Orange

Coast and walk-on coach, then was hired at Chapman, where he coached

cross country and track for seven years. His term lasted until the

1989-90 season, when the Orange-based private college dropped both

sports.

That’s when Appell began coaching as a walk-on volunteer at Estancia,

where all four of his children were competitive runners. All four also

ran cross country at Orange Coast.

Among Appell’s many highlights at Estancia include a second-place

finish at the 1997 CIF State Division IV boys cross country finals and

helping Alberto Munoz to the individual state title in 1998. His oldest son, Johann, was a standout in the mid-1990s.

“When I was in high school and college, you were always having to pay

big bucks for coaching, and I always wanted to give something back,” said

Appell, who volunteered for two years, before officially becoming the

coach.

“I just like volunteering, to be able to give something to someone, as

there were those who gave me something when I was younger.”

Appell, who has since returned to OCC and worked as an assistant in

the Exercise Science Lab since 1989, was born in Ohio and moved to

California when he was 12.

In 1965, Appell graduated from Westminster, a cross country powerhouse

at the time. As a junior in the fall of ‘63, Appell was among the top

three runners on the Lions’ CIF Southern Section major-division

championship team. The Lions placed second in CIF the following year.

Appell competed at OCC, helping the Pirates to the state championships

his freshman year in ’65 and running No. 1 on the squad in ‘66, when he

set four course records.

But smog and allergies started to affect Appell’s ability to compete

and he continued his athletic career at Northern Arizona University,

where he once qualified for the NAIA national steeplechase championships.

A Costa Mesa resident, Appell is the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot

Sports Hall of Fame.

His 25-year-old daughter, Carrie, who was married last year, also ran

at Long Beach State; his oldest son, Johann, 24, was married July 7;

there are also sons Michael, 23, and Stephan, 21.

“I’m very proud of my children and my association with (Estancia girls

cross country and track coach) Joan Carlisle,” he said. “My wife, she’s

my main part ... she goes to all the meets.”