TORRINGTON – Torrington’s Mark Lenhardt is entering his seventh year at the helm of the Trailblazer football program, a role he hopes to use to better his players both on and off the field.
“Coaching is one of the last places we can truly push kids,” Lenhardt said. “My philosophy is; in order to succeed, you have to fail first… Football is a real opportunity to show (the players) what life is like. It teaches you how to handle adversity.”
Lenhardt, who went to school at Cheyenne Central, has had football intertwined with his life for several years. After high school, he went on to play football at Colorado Mesa University. Following graduation, Lenhardt spent seven years coaching at the collegiate level at three different institutions, including a year at his alma mater, Colorado Mesa University.

Over the past six years, Lenhardt has worked to build the Blazers back into a football powerhouse. In his first two years, Torrington went a combined 2-15. In 2013, Lenhardt guided the Blazers to a 3-6 record and a spot in the playoffs. Torrington then reached the state semi-finals in back-to-back years, going 16-4 during 2014 and 2015. A season ago, the team went 6-3 and reached the playoffs.
Although the wins continue rolling in for the Blazers, Lenhardt has other focuses on top of winning. He continuously harps on competing and effort and wants each of his players to understand the mentality of a competitor. Even with the victories, Lenhardt looks at the way the team wins.
“I put quite a bit of weight on winning, but we want to win the right way,” he said. “We want to persevere and bounce back from any adversity we may face.”
Lenhardt, who now has a 27-28 record with the Blazers, does not measure himself as a coach based on the wins and losses columns.
“My success or failure is determined by these kids later in life,” Lenhardt said. “My number one goal is to have kids be prepared for life more than they were when they came in.”