St. Augustine Catholic is mourning the loss at midweek of longtime cross country and track coach Al Buhl. Buhl passed away Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.

St. Augustine coach Tim Bentley forwarded the news and tribute to his fellow coach and mentor Buhl via Andy Morales (Tucsoncitizen.com):

“It is with a sad and heavy heart that we share this news with you today. Coach Buhl passed away yesterday afternoon, losing his battle with cancer. We pray for his wife Ann, and two sons, Matt & Kevin.

Coach Buhl had an impact on everyone he met. From athletes, students,  teachers and coaches, we all came away better people. He influenced all of us, maybe it was a request – ‘We’d love to have you on the team,” or ‘We sure could use your help’, that introduced us into a lifelong love and passion we never knew we had. He had that affect on people.

Coach Buhl loved all of us dearly. He was a friend, a coach, a leader confidant and mentor – someone in our corner, someone that always had our back. His ability to get the best from us as athletes was amazing – the 24 state champions, multiple region champs and athletes he coached can all attest to that. But it was his ability to get the most from us as people that made him the man we grew to love.....

We miss Coach Buhl dearly, but know that he will always be with us in spirit and the lessons he taught us. We will try to live the motto he impressed upon us every day – Hard Work Beats Talent When Talent Doesn’t Work Hard.