By COREY McMULLEN
On Feb. 6, Greg Wenneborg was dismissed from his duties as the Pima Community College Aztecs team’s head track and field coach.
Supporters of the team have set out for answers, and it seems the college doesn’t want to respond just yet.
Wenneborg was at PCC for 15 years, and his profile has yet to be removed from Pimaathletics.com as of March 3.
Many of the athletes have taken to social media to get the message out asking for their coach back. Some hypothesize that this is the first move the college is making to cut the track and field program completely, like the school did last season with football.
Current and former track and field athletes have reached out to Pima Athletic Director Jim Monaco, but they don’t appear to have been given any answers.
The Aztec Press reached out to Monaco to find out why Wenneborg was dismissed, but he declined to comment.
“All we can say is that he is no longer with the college,” said Raymond Suarez, Aztecs sports spokesman.
An unnamed source told the Aztec Press that Wenneborg was fired for what they believed was a non-fireable offense. The source said that a student athlete allegedly was signed at two colleges simultaneously, which is not considered a fireable offense. The source believes this was an honest mistake on Wenneborg’s part.
In recent days, the source said that coaches discovered that the pole vault mats, which cost over $15,000, had been disposed of. This supposedly was not done by a coach. The mysterious disposal has Aztec alumni wondering if someone may be trying to sabotage the program and its future.
The Aztec Press reached out to Wenneborg via Twitter.
“Thank you for reaching out. I have an official request for a review of my termination being considered by HR right now,” Wenneborg said in a recent email. “And (I) think it’s best not to comment until it’s been completed.”
While much of the information is still unknown, members of the track team have been at a loss without their coach.
“It was difficult for all of us because we were getting ready for the beginning of our indoor season, and because of this we lost our indoor season,” Aaron Espinoza, a sophomore athlete, told the Aztec Press. “We lost an individual that helped us develop not only as athletes but as individuals as well.
“He gave me an opportunity to be on this team full of talented athletes and guided me to be the individual I am today, and I will always be grateful for that.”