The College of St. Scholastica

Dr. Steve Pfingsten enters his 26^th season coaching cross country at The College of St. Scholastica in 2015. He has been the head coach for 24 years.
 
Under the guidance of Coach Pfingsten, six teams and 19 individuals have competed in National Cross Country Championships. The Saints have won 20 UMAC championships in the past 13 years and have earned a total of 139 all-conference awards and 10 individual championships. Coach Pfingsten has been named conference coach of the year 19 times.

In 2013, he coached Chelsea Johnson to the school’s first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship. Johnson was named the USTFCCCA Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year and USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She was also named the Central Region’s Athlete of the Year.
 
Pfingsten also guided the women’s team to a national ranking in 2013 and had three runners earn All-Region laurels, the most in a given season in program history.
 
In 2014, Pfingsten coached Chris Lawson to the NCAA Division III Championships, becoming the first male runner in school history to compete at the NCAA Championships.
 
Coach Pfingsten is known as an enthusiastic, positive, and knowledgeable coach with a great love for cross country. He believes the sport greatly enriches the college experience. He brings a wealth of cross country and life experiences to his coaching. Coach Pfingsten’s teams train hard and intelligently while having fun at the same time.
 
His coaching style is one of encouragement, support and positive reinforcement. Each and every team member is valued and respected. Coach Pfingsten emphasizes improvement, and the Cross Country physiology-based training program is designed to enable each runner to become the best runner he or she can be.
 
As a former professor in the School of Education at the College, Dr. Pfingsten knows and recognizes the importance and demands of the students’ education and is very supportive of team members in their pursuit of academic excellence. The cross country teams excel in the classroom year in and year out.
 
Dr. Pfingsten holds a B.S. degree from Carroll College (Wis.), an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. from Marquette University. He serves as the Academic Coordinator for the Athletics Department and is the advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
 
Coach Pfingsten and his wife Pat, a licensed parent educator, have three children and seven grandchildren. Coach Pfingsten’s Christian faith is very important to him and is reflected in his approach to life and coaching. The Pfingstens live in Duluth less than two miles from campus.