2023 USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame
USTFCCCA recently announced their 2023 Coaches Hall of Fame class. The class includes three coaches from Division III - John Homon of Mt. Union, Donna Ricks of Carleton and Phil Lundin of St. Olaf.
Get to know these hall of fame coaches better:
John Homon
Homon coached for 31 years for the Purple Raiders starting in 1978. He led Mount Union to 54 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Team Titles with 21 indoor, 19 outdoor and 14 cross country titles. He won 14 straight OAC indoor titles and won 14 outdoor titles in 16 years.
Homon coached 503 OAC individual/relay champions which included 254 outdoor champions, 237 indoor champions and 12 cross country champions.
Over his career Mount Union had 10 different teams finish top 10 at the Indoor National meet including three Indoor National Runner-Up teams in 1985, 1996 and 1998. He had nine different teams finish top 10 in the Outdoor National meet including a Runner-Up finish in 1984 and had 12 different teams make the Cross Country National meet with the best finish being Runner-Up in 1997.
Over his time at Mount Union coach Homon helped coach 204 All-American athletes including 42 national champions.
Donna Ricks
Donna Ricks started coaching at Carleton in 1993 and serves as professor of physical education, athletics and recreation, as well as head coach for the women's cross country and track & field programs.
Record at Carleton:
18 NCAA Cross Country Championship team appearances (1993, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
Podium Finish in XC (4th) in 2022
10 MIAC Cross Country Championships team titles (2004, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019)
8 MIAC Cross Country Championships runner-up finishes (1993, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2021)
9 top-3 team finishes at the MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, including six times since 2012
9 top-3 team finishes at the MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, including runner-up results in 2014, 2016, and 2018
During her time at Carleton, the Knights have had 7 national champions (1 indoor track & field, 6 outdoor track & field) and a total of 60 All-America performances (9 cross country, 18 indoor track & field, 33 outdoor track & field)
13-time MIAC Coach of the Year 11 cross country, 1 indoor track & field, 1 outdoor track & field)
7-time USTFCCCA Central Region Coach of the Year (2009, 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2019 for cross country; 2014 and 2016 for outdoor track and field).
Listen to her episode on D3 Glory Days
Phil Lundin
Phil Lundin got his start at the University of Minnesota. During his time at St. Olaf, Lundin coached 184 MIAC all-conference selections, 52 individual or relay conference champions, 49 national qualifiers, 40 individual or relay All-Americans, 10 national-qualifying teams, seven individual national champions, and six conference-championship teams. His career was highlighted by leading the men's cross country program to the 2013 national title, the lone NCAA team championship in school history. An eight-time MIAC Coach of the Year, Lundin's cross country teams won five-straight MIAC titles from 2012-16 and recorded three-straight top-five national finishes from 2013, placing second in 2014 and fourth in 2015 in addition to the 2013 national title.
In addition to his eight MIAC Coach of the Year accolades, Lundin was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2013 and the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Central Region Coach of the Year four-straight years from 2012-15. His teams also excelled academically, earning a combined 32-of-33 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team awards and producing 72 USTFCCCA All-Academic honorees.
Text and image credit to Mount Union Athletics, Carleton Athletics, and St. Olaf Athletics.