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| 2007
Coaching Staff |
Head
Coach Doug Yoder
Doug Yoder
begins his fourth season as head cross country coach in 2007,
presiding as the Leafs’ sixth
cross country coach in program history. Yoder, a long-time Goshen
High
School running coach and two-year Goshen College assistant track
coach acquired his first opportunity at a collegiate head coaching
position with the Leafs' long-distance program.
“You look at distance running philosophically, and it’s something
that’s hard to do, it’s time consuming and most other sports use
running as a form of punishment,” Yoder said. “But in that framework
I try to make it fun. I’ve learned a lot from my own running, and I think
athletes can make a lot of connections from the sport to other areas of their
lives, such as study habits and decision making.”
Yoder began coaching at the college level after 25 years of work in coaching
track and cross country at Goshen High School. Yoder was an assistant boys’ track
coach from 1979-1990 and was the head girls’ track coach for the Redskins
from 1991-2003. Yoder added girls’ head cross country responsibilities
in 1992, a position he kept until the fall of 2004. Yoder also directed the Goshen
Relays track meet for six years and assisted in the process for seven years,
while producing
eight straight winning seasons in girls’ cross country and qualifying his
team for regional and semi-state competition for the last six years. He has had
at least one all-state academic performer on his team for the last eight years,
and said he hopes to continue the balance of strong running and performance in
the classroom at Goshen College.
Yoder runs daily, and has participated in 40 marathons in the last 10
years. He has qualified and ran in the Boston Marathon three times, and
said he enjoys running
with his athletes during practices. Yoder also serves as director of
Goshen’s athletic facility — the Roman Gingerich Center — in
conjunction with his coaching role at Goshen College.
Yoder graduated from Goshen College in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree
in
art. He completed his master’s degree in art from Ball State University
in 1984. He also performed graduate studies at the University of St. Francis
and Indiana University. Yoder
has two sons — Kyle, who graduated from Goshen College in 2005 and Adam,
a 2007 GC grad. Doug
lives
with his wife, Vicki, in Goshen.
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Assistant
Coach Lyle Miller
Lyle Miller,
four years after resigning as the head coach of the Goshen College
cross country programs, continues as an assistant coach with the
program in 2007.
Miller, who served as Goshen’s head coach for a total
of 10 years in two different stints, has attempted to aid coach
Doug Yoder achieve the
types of success that became familiar to Miller as the Leafs’ leader.
Miller was instrumental in beginning the Goshen College women's program, serving
as its first full-season coach in 1986. He added men's responsibilities the
following year, taking over as head coach in both sports in 1988. During an
eight-year tenure that concluded in 1993, he coached seven NAIA All-American
Scholar-Athletes, seven national championship qualifiers, 16 All-NAIA District
21 performers (including two individual champions) and 18 all-conference selections
(including three individual champions). In his final two seasons as the program’s
leader, Miller coached an additional three national qualifiers, six all-conference
selections and two all-regional selections. Four runners were all-American
Scholar-Athletes in those years, while Miller was chosen Mid-Central College
Conference women's coach of the year after the Maple Leafs won the 1992 team
championship. His top men's finish was in 1988, when the team missed winning
the conference crown by three points.
Miller also coached additional national qualifiers and other award winners
during seven years as an assistant or head coach in the Maple Leaf track and
field program.
Miller is a 1989 graduate of Goshen College with a major in sports management
and has done graduate study at the University of Iowa. He also serves as director
of printing and mailing services at the college. He resides his wife, Bonnie,
and their two children in Goshen.
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Assistant
Coach Rustin Nyce
Rustin Nyce begins his second season as an assistant cross country
coach in 2007, returning to the program after a four-year hiatus
from the sport itself.
Nyce graduated from Goshen in 2002 and was a two-year member of
the Leafs’ cross country program, running for former head
coach Phil Hostetler as a sophomore and current assistant coach
Lyle Miller as a senior. Nyce missed the 2000 cross country season
while studying abroad.
This year, Nyce will again focus primarily with Goshen’s current
athletes, working on technique and race management.
Nyce currently works at Chandler Elementary School (Goshen) and
is a Title I instructor. He and his wife of four years, Kimberly,
reside in Goshen.
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Assistant
Coach Petrana Petkova
Arguably the greatest cross country athlete to ever don a Goshen College uniform — and certainly the most decorated — 2007 Goshen College graduate Petrana Petkova returns to the program as an assistant coach for the 2007 season.
A four-time NAIA All-American in cross country and two-time national champion in track and field, Petkova’s total 14 All-American honors are by far the most in Goshen College history in any sport. Petkova won the 2007 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship in the 5,000-meter race and the 2007 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championhip 10,000-meter event as a senior, becoming only the third athlete in school history to capture multiple national titles.
In cross country, Petkova was a two-time Mid-Central Conference Champion, Goshen’s only two-time conference champ, male or female. Petkova won the 2004 NAIA Region VIII Championship, only the second Goshen athlete to ever achieve that status (the other was 2002 graduate Heidi Saunders).
“Obviously, we are extremely fortunate to have Petrana help with our team this year,” said Doug Yoder, Goshen head coach. “She brings a wealth of talent and an incredible training regimen to the table. Our younger runners will benefit greatly from her being here.”
Petkova will focus primarily on the women’s team’s efforts, but will also serve as an assistant coach for the men’s side. Petkova is married and resides in Goshen.
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Assistant
Coach Mark Furkis
Mark Furkis Biography Coming Soon!
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