Dan Schofer enters his fifth year as Cornell College head coach of men's and women's cross country and assistant coach of men's and women's track and field in 2010-2011.
A native of Wilmette, Ill., Schofer graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., in 2000 with a major in biology. He earned an MS degree in exercise physiology from the University of Oregon in December 2001. While at Oregon, he taught running and weight training courses in the physical education department, worked as a teaching assistant in the exercise physiology department, and competed for Team Eugene, a running club active in the Pacific Northwest.
In his first year at Cornell, Schofer was selected by the student-athlete advisory committee as the school's Coach of the Year, as he guided the women's cross country team to its best season in the program's history - fourth place at the Iowa Conference Championships with two all-IIAC performers. In his first four years with the cross country and track programs, Schofer has coached 20 all-IIAC performances. Under his guidance, the distance runners have set new school records in 12 different events.
Cornell's distance runners enjoyed a successful year in 2009-2010. Leading the men was junior Andrew Tobben, who claimed the IIAC title in cross country and went on to earn all-America honors by placing 28th at the NCAA Championships. The men's team set a program record with its third-place finish at the conference meet, in which three Cornell runners (Tobben and sophomores Ben Jacobs and Chase Nowak) earned all-IIAC honors. At the indoor conference championships, the Cornell men were champions in the 4x800-meter relay and earned all-conference honors in the distance medley. Sophomore Adam Rooyakkers anchored both relays and was runner-up in the 800 run. Nowak won the 10k at the outdoor conference championships, and Tobben was runner-up in both the 5k and 10k.
A year after all-American miler and six-event school-record holder Rachelle Hawkins graduated, the women's distance squad continued to be extremely competitive. With no seniors in the lineup, six different women ran 5:11 or better in the 1500 run and five different women ran between 18:50 and 19:42 over 5,000 meters.
The men's and women's teams enter the 2010-11 year with solid recruiting classes and high expectations. The men return six of their top seven from last fall's cross country team, while the women return their entire roster.
Schofer came to Cornell from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., where he served for four years as assistant coach of men's and women's cross country and track and field. During his time at Rhodes, he helped coach 40 individual all-conference performances, one team and nine individual conference championships, one team and seven individual national qualifiers, and four all-American performances.
Schofer also served as assistant coach for the Carleton women's track and field program for the 2002 winter and spring seasons.
During his junior and senior years at Carleton, Schofer captained both the cross country and track and field teams. Additionally, he earned three most-improved awards, several all-conference citations, and qualified as an individual for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in the fall of 1999. Schofer has continued to train and compete at a high level since graduating from college.
Schofer has USA Track and Field Level II coaching certification and is a member of the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
"I have high expectations for the student-athletes in our program, in terms of discipline, hard work, sportsmanship, and citizenship. Participating in cross country and track at Cornell is one of the most demanding aspects of our students' college experience, but there is no question that it is also one of the most rewarding. From our fastest to our slowest runners, all members of our program enjoy the lifelong bonds of friendships formed and the satisfaction gained from working hard and improving as part of a competitive team."
Schofer and his wife, Marie, a competitive distance runner herself who works in Cornell's office of admission, live in Mount Vernon.
All-Iowa Conference - Cross Country
Andrew Tobben 2009 (champion)
Ben Jacobs 2009 (9th)
Chase Nowak 2009 (12th)
Rachelle Hawkins 2008 (4th)
Rachelle Hawkins 2007 (6th)
Andrew Tobben 2007 (8th)
Rachelle Hawkins 2006 (14th)
Patricia Gonzalves 2006 (15th)
NCAA All-Region - Cross Country
Andrew Tobben 2009 (12th)
Ben Jacobs 2009 (24th)
Chase Nowak 2009 (26th)
Rachelle Hawkins 2008 (7th)
Andrew Tobben 2008 (24th)
Rachelle Hawkins 2007 (13th)
Andrew Tobben 2007 (35th)
NCAA Division III National Qualifiers
Andrew Tobben 2009 (Cross country -- 28th place, all-American)
Rachelle Hawkins 2009 (Indoor mile -- 8th place, all-American)
Rachelle Hawkins 2008 (Cross country -- 65th place)
All-Iowa Conference - Track & Field
Chase Nowak 2010 (10,000-meter run - champion)
Andrew Tobben 2010 (10,000-meter run - 2nd place)
Andrew Tobben 2010 (5,000-meter run - 2nd place)
Men's 4x800-meter relay 2010 (Donavin, Kuhlmann, Purkey, Rooyakkers - champions)
Adam Rooyakkers 2010 (Indoor 800-meter run - 2nd place)
Men's distance medley relay 2010 (Donavin, McGowan, Kuhlmann, Rooyakkers - 3rd place)
Andrew Tobben 2009 (Indoor 3,000-meter run - 2nd place)
Men's 4x800-meter relay 2009 (Donavin, Skoog, Purkey, Rooyakkers - 2nd place)
Rachelle Hawkins 2009 (Indoor 3,000-meter run - 2nd place)
Rachelle Hawkins 2008 (Indoor 3,000-meter run - 3rd place)
Rachelle Hawkins 2007 (Indoor 1,000-meter run - 2nd place)
Patricia Gonzalves 2007 (Outdoor 10,000-meter run - 3rd place)
Cornell College Records
Men's 4x800-meter relay (indoors - Donavin, Kuhlmann, Purkey, Rooyakkers)
Rachelle Hawkins (6,000 meters, cross country)
Women's 4x800-meter relay (Kuhlmann, Jagielo, Aerts, Hawkins)
Women's distance medley relay (Jagielo, Carberry, Jepson, Hawkins)
Men's 4x800-meter relay (indoors - Donavin, Skoog, Purkey, Rooyakkers)
Men's distance medley relay (indoors - Donavin, Skoog, Rooyakkers, Nowak)
Rachelle Hawkins (1,000-meter run)
Rachelle Hawkins (1,500-meter run)
Rachelle Hawkins (mile run)
Rachelle Hawkins (3,000-meter run)
Patricia Gonzalves (5,000-meter run)
Patricia Gonzalves (10,000-meter run)
United States Cross Country Coaches Association
Academic All-Americans
Men's cross country team 2009 (GPA 3.14)
Women's cross country team 2009 (GPA 3.54)
Chase Nowak 2009 (cross country)
Rachelle Hawkins 2009 (track and field)
Rachelle Hawkins 2008 (cross country)
Women's cross country team 2008 (GPA 3.47)
Rachelle Hawkins 2007 (cross country)
Women's cross country team 2007 (GPA 3.55)
Men's cross country team 2006 (GPA 3.27)
Women's cross country team 2006 (GPA 3.47)
