Continuing the Tradition

This past week I had the opportunity to listen to a passionate, distinguished speaker about the history of Luther College cross country. This speaker was Coach Kent Finanger, the former cross country coach at Luther who spent 28 years working with the men's and women's teams, getting to know each person on the team and make them the best runner they could be. He is now retired, but his passion for the sport and his will to succeed was still coming through loud and clear- as if he was the current coach.

This wonderful talk took place last Thursday night before the team took off Friday for the Roy Griak race at the University of Minnesota. We had a team dinner at a freshman male runner's house, and it so happens that Coach Finanger is his grandfather. The meal was delicious, beating the caf by a long shot, but the talk by Coach was the highlight of the evening.

I learned that 2009 will be the 50th anniversary of the men's cross country team competing in the IIAC (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and that Coach Finanger has been the only Luther XC coach to have a team win nationals, which was in 1985. That is really something special.

He reminded the current team of our responsibility to run for each other, this family that we have, and that our actions should always reflect well on Luther College and be pleasing to God. He wrote down some of his thoughts and coaching phrases for us to have, and the following quote from Coach Finanger encompasses exactly what I've experienced on the team:

"Luther College Cross Country Family: Our lives are woven together with strands of Respect and Trust, Love and Friendship, Commitment and Family. Each is a Fiber of Strength in a Secure and Lasting Relationship"

The ties that connect Luther runners do feel like those of a family, and it's neat to see that the passion and love Coach Finanger felt when he was coaching is still being felt today. At the Griak meet it was awesome to see and hear all of the fans who were out there supporting Luther-parents, alumni, High school coaches and teams, and people I didn't even know. The support for Luther cross country continues to build. The tradition of hard work, love, and trust is passed on so that more people become part of the family.