AT DORDT
Nate Wolf has served as head coach of the Defender women’s and men’s cross country programs since 2015.
His 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 women’s teams claimed GPAC titles while the 2016 and 2019 teams were runner-up finishers. All ten of those teams qualified for the NAIA National Championship where they have finished in the top 11 eight times along with a 16th and 23rd place team finish. Wolf also coached Audrey Brooks to NAIA All-American status in 2017, Annechiena Knevelbaard to All American status and a Individual GPAC Championship in 2018, Olivia Couch to an individual GPAC Championship in 2019, Jessica Kampman to three consecutive Individual GPAC Championships (2021, 2022, 2023) and to four All-American performances (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), and Corinne Braun to an individual GPAC Championship in 2024.
The Defender men were runner-up finishers in the GPAC in 2016 and finished third in 2017 before breaking through with the program's first GPAC Title in 2018. The men continued their success with GPAC Championships in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 All seven of those conference championship teams raced at the NAIA National Championship highlighted by the 2022 team winning the NAIA National Championship, the first ever in school and program history. All told, Wolf’s men’s team has finished in the top 10 four times as well as garnering 13th, 16th and 25th place team finishes. Wolf coached Caleb Drake to NAIA All-American status in 2016 and he coached the GPAC individual champion, Eric Steiger, in 2018. Davis Tebben claimed the GPAC title in 2021 and Eric Steiger was an All-American with a 34th place finish that same year. In 2022 Joe Anderson won the GPAC individual championship and headlined four runners that earned All-American that year as well (Anderson 13th, Tebben 17th, Peter Shippy 18th, Steiger 23rd). In 2023 Aidan Vorster claimed the GPAC title and Ethan Summerhays won his first of two All American awards (2023 and 2024).
Wolf has been named GPAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year eight times at Dordt University and has won the honor seven times in men's cross country. He's been the USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year for women in 2018 and 2024 and for men in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024 . Wolf was the National Cross Country Coach of the Year for 2022. Wolf also claimed National Assistant Track Coach of the Year for the Men's Indoor season in 2021, 2023, and 2024. He received the same accolade for outdoor track following the 2023 outdoor season.
Coach Wolf is an assistant in the Defender Track program where he is responsible for the development of distance and middle distance runners, as well as high jumpers and hurdlers.
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Wolf was the Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota from 2012-2015.
His first stop in collegiate coaching came at Northwestern College where he was the head track and field coach from 2005-2012 and also coached the cross country programs as an assistant or head coach for all of those years. Wolf coached 75 students who earned NAIA Scholar Athlete recognition and five teams who earned NAIA Scholar-Team accolades.
COACHING PHILOSOPHY
While our desire is to compete at a high level in our conference and nationally along with developing all our athletes to perform to the best of their God given abilities. Our philosophy is rooted in finding value and meaning in the process of training and competing, not simply in the end result. We believe that the life lessons we learn in these areas have direct application to our faith in Jesus Christ. Discipline, accountability, and responsibility are part of preparing to perform in a practice or in a race and are also part of our personal faith walk. We want to develop young women and men, who see that the application of these principles in their spiritual lives aids in deepening their faith walk, just like the application of these principles in their running or studying helps them develop as runners and students. Our faith is not integrated on top of our running, but is an integral part of our running.
ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE
Wolf competed for Northwestern in both track and cross country from 1999-2003.
Qualified for NAIA Track Nationals in the mile and 3,000 meters
ACADEMICS
B. A. in Biology and Health Professions from Northwestern (Iowa).
M. A. in Athletic Administration from the University of South Dakota.
