Men's Cross Country Head Coach - Scott Steuernagel

Scott Steuernagel

Scott Steuernagel is set to begin his fifth season as the head men's cross country coach at UW-Eau Claire. Steuernagel has stepped down as head men's track and field coach and will assume responsibilities as an assistant track coach for the 2002-03 season.

The 2001 squad posted a 101-32-1 record en route to a fourth-place finish at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. The Blugolds finished 11th at the NCAA Midwest Regional and had one individual qualifier in James Larson.

A familiar name in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Steuernagel was a two-time conference individual cross country champion and won eight conference individual track gold medals while an undergraduate at UW-Oshkosh.

Steuernagel comes to Eau Claire after a two-year stint as the head cross country and track and field coach for both men and women at the University of Dubuque. Prior to that he was at Mankato State where he earned his Master of Arts Degree in Human Performance and served as interim head cross country coach.

As a collegiate runner, Steuernagel is one of only seven individuals nationwide to become a four-time NCAA Division III All-American in cross country. He placed 18th in 1987, ninth in 1988, eighth in 1989 and second in 1990 at the national meet. Oshkosh won the national championship his final three seasons after placing third his freshman year. He won the conference individual titles in 1989 and 1990, leading Oshkosh to the team title both years. He still holds the UWO school record for an 8,000-meter cross country run at 24:19.

As a track athlete, Steuernagel was a five-time All-American, winning the 1992 Division III 3,000-meter steeplechase. He still holds the Titan steeplechase record at 8:55.26. He also placed second in the 1990 steeplechase nationals, was third in the 1989 outdoor 10,000-meter race, fourth in the 1992 indoor 5,000-meter run and sixth in the 1989 indoor 1500-meter event.

His WIAC domination peaked in the 1992 outdoor meet when he won the steeplechase, 5K and 10K events. He won his first 10K title in 1989 and his first steeplechase crown in 1990. He won the indoor 3,000-meter race in 1989 and 1992 and the indoor 1500 in 1990.

A Wisconsin native who prepped at Tomahawk High School where his father was a coach, Steuernagel's coaching experience includes stints as a head coach or assistant coach in cross country or track and field at Dubuque, Mankato State, UW-Stevens Point, Stevens Point Area Senior High and Oshkosh Lourdes High School. He led the 1992 Lourdes' girls' cross country team to a second-place finish at the WISAA state meet. He was Conference and Regional Coach of the Year in 1995 as the Mankato State women's cross country team won the North Central Conference and NCAA North Central Regional championships and placed fourth at the NCAA Division II nationals.

Steuernagel (b. 5/08/69) and wife Marnie (b. 12/01/70) are the parents of one daughter, Riley Elizabeth (b. 4/02/01).