Kentwood’s Aarstad accepts position at Auburn Riverside | BASEBALL

Kentwood High baseball coach Jon Aarstad turned in his resignation Tuesday, opting to take a coaching and teaching position at Auburn Riverside.

“I live five minutes from there. My commute will be going from 70 minutes a day down to 10,” said Aarstad, who lives in Lake Tapps.

Aarstad inherited a strong baseball program eight years ago, and helped transform it into one of the best in the state. In eight years, Aarstad, who teaches math, compiled a record of 134-60, a mark that includes a state title in 2010 and a third-place finish in 2006.

The Conquerors have advanced to the state playoffs in seven of the last eight years under Aarstad.

Aarstad will be taking over for Chris Garrison at Auburn Riverside. Garrison is the only coach the Auburn Riverside program has ever had. Coincidentally, Aarstad and Garrison were South Puget Sound League North Division co-Coaches of the Year this spring.

The Ravens (15-11 this year) were the surprise of the SPSL North, advancing to the state tournament for the first time since 1999.

Aarstad met with Kentwood players in a Thursday morning meeting.

The news caught the Conquerors by surprise.

“We didn’t see it coming at all,” said league MVP Reese McGuire, a catcher. “We were all very surprised. We thought it was a meeting about summer weight training.”

Leaving Kentwood wasn’t easy, Aarstad admitted. With two young daughters, ages 4 and 6, the opportunity to work close to home proved to be too much to pass up.

“This job hadn’t opened in 16 years. I told myself, if there’s one school that’s going to get me away from Kentwood, it’s Auburn Riverside,” Aarstad said. “Kentwood was a great place to work, a great place to coach and they have an unbelievable coaching staff.”

In eight years under Aarstad, the Conquerors won one SPSL North title (2010), finished second three times (2004, 2009, 2011 2011) and two third-place finishes (2006, 2007).