Meet the Coaches

The St. Olaf Men's Cross Country Coaches


Head Coach Bill Thornton
Bill

Bill Thornton begins his 35th year as head coach of track & field at St. Olaf. From 1970 through 1984 and 1997- the present time he has served or is serving as Coach of Cross Country. During his tenure he has coached 96 Midwest Conference and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Champions, and 29 NCAA Division III, and one NCAA College Division All Americans, including 5 National Champions. Of the Conference Champions 13 are MIAC Record Holders, 8 Indoors and 5 Outdoors, in the events currently contested. One of the National Champions is the current NCAA In door record holder.

A strong beleiver in coaching education, he holds USAT&F Level I and II Coaching Certifications as well as Bronze and Silver Level Certification in the Pole vault . His Level II Certifications are in the event areas of Jumps and T hro ws.

Coach Thornton is a member of the United States Track Coaches Association and the NCAA Division III Track Coaches Association where he has served as Secretary since 1984. Since 1985 he has been involved in the United States Olympic Festivals, s p onso red by the United States Olympic Committee, serving as a Travel Coordinator, and most recently as an Assistant Commisioner for Men's Athletics (Track & Field). A 1996 sabbatical leave enabled him the oppurtunity to serve as Co-manger of Equipment and co-supervisor of Field of Play for the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Ranked as an Associate Professor of Physical Education his teaching expertise includes a variety of Activity Classes as well as Exercise Physiology, and Lifeguard Training. He has c arried his strong beliefs in Teaching and Coaching Education and served as a Clinician at numerous clinics around the country.

A 1963 graduate of the University of Kansas with a Physical Education major and Biological Science minor. He received a Master s Degree from the University of Arkansas in 1964. He and wife Merrell are parents of two sons both of whom are coaches of track & field in Minnesota, Mark age 34 teaches Social Studies at Northfield High School while serving as a part time Assista nt Track & Field Coach at St. Olaf, and Paul age 32 serves as Head Coach of Mens and Women's Track & Field at Saint Mary's University

You can call Coach Thornton at (507)646-3256 or e-mail him at thorntow@stolaf.edu.


Assistant Coach Mark Thornton


Mark Thornton graduated from St. Olaf in 1990. Thornton began his coaching career at The University of St. Thomas, where he coached women's track and field for one year. For the next two years, he coached the boys team at Hastings High School. Thornton then went to Anoka High School, where he taught social studies and coached both boys and girls track and field teams for four years. In 1997, Thornton returned to his alma mater, Northfield High School, to teach social studies and coach track and field and football. Thornton has served as an assistant coach to his father Bill for the men's cross country and track and field teams for the past three seasons.

Thornton and his wife Linda live in Northfield with their four year old daughter, Thyme.


Assistant Coach Rob McCarthy


Rob McCarthy is in his second season as an assistant for the men's track and field team. In the fall, McCarthy will enter 2004 football season as his 16th season coaching, and his third season as Defensive Coordinator for St. Olaf College. McCarthy, a 1989 graduate of Concordia College, began his coaching career in 1989 as an assistant coach at Concordia. In the fall of 1990, he joined the coaching staff at the University of St. Thomas where he served as outside linebacker and defensive line coach from 1990-1994. In 1995, McCarthy was the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Northwestern. In 1998, McCarthy earned his Masters degree from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire, while serving as their defensive line coach. Before coming to St. Olaf in the fall of 2002, McCarthy spent one year as the defensive coordinator at a Florida high school.

McCarthy and his wife Angie live in Northfield and are expecting their first child in April 2004.