Dr. Kregg Einspahr, head coach
Dr. Kregg Einspahr enters his 21st season as Head Coach for the Concordia University Men’s and Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country programs in 2012-13. During his career, his teams have consistently been at the top of the Great Plains Athletic Conference and NAIA national standings.
Coach Einspahr led the Concordia women's cross country team to Nationals for the 17th time in the past 18 years during the 2011 season. The Bulldogs placed 17th overall, marking the 17th top 20 finish at Nationals for the Concordia women in the past 18 years. Sarah Kortze had an outstanding junior season and finished as a 2011 All-American. The Concordia women were second at the 2011 GPAC Championships, while the Bulldog men finished third. Kortze, Jena Schwalenberg and Ben Sievert all picked up All-GPAC honors for the 2011 Bulldogs.
Einspahr then guided his women's outdoor track and field squad to a GPAC Championship in the spring of 2012 and was named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Women’s Coach of the Year for the third time in four years. A total of 27 Bulldog athletes qualified for the 2012 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, where the Concordia women recorded a 15th-place finish, behind Sara Retzlaff's 11th place showing in the discus.
Following the 2011 cross country season, lists of the top NAIA women's and men's cross country programs were created based on best finishes at the NAIA National Championships. Concordia was listed eighth in top all-time programs and second in top current programs on the women's side. The Concordia men's program was selected eighth in the list of top current programs.
During 2010-11, the Concordia men’s cross country team placed 20th at Nationals. Dana Schmidt was the GPAC Cross Country Champion, GPAC Runner-of-the-Year and an All-American. In the indoor season, Colin Morrissey picked up GPAC Athlete-of-the-Year honors. Several Bulldogs finished as All-Americans, highlighted by Chris Tegtmeier’s National Championship performance in the racewalk and Corbin Jones’ National Runner-up performance in the weight throw. Dana Schmidt was the GPAC Athlete-of-the-Year, and Tegtmeier was the National Runner-up in the racewalk during the 2011 outdoor season. The Bulldog men tied for 11th at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships.
2009-10 was also a very successful year for Coach Einspahr and his teams. His 2009 men’s cross country team was GPAC Champion and NAIA National Champion Runner-up. Over the past 12 years, Einspahr’s teams have been NAIA National Champion Runner-up six times in track or cross country. The 2009 women’s cross country team finished in the top 20 at Nationals for the 16th straight year. The 2010 women’s indoor track & field team was GPAC Champion, snapping a 19-year run by Doane atop the conference. The women’s outdoor track & field team also won the conference championship, splitting the title with Doane.
Dr. Einspahr has been named conference or regional Coach-of-the-Year for track or cross country more than 30 times during his career at Concordia. Recently, he was named 2008 and 2009 GPAC Men’s Cross Country Coach-of-the-Year, 2009 and 2010 GPAC Women’s Indoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year, 2009 GPAC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year and 2009 and 2010 GPAC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year. The United State Track Coaches Association named Einspahr as NAIA National Women’s Cross Country Coach-of-the-Year in the fall of 1999.
A 1982 graduate of Concordia, Einspahr continued his education at the University of Nebraska where he earned his master’s degree in Biology in 1985. He received a doctorate degree (PhD) in Biochemistry and Physiology from the University of Texas in 1988. Einspahr also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Immunology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In addition to coaching, he serves as a professor of biology at Concordia.
While competing at Concordia, he was a six-time NAIA national champion, winning the indoor mile once and the indoor two mile twice. In the steeplechase, he was a three-time National Champion and at the time, had the NAIA National record (since broken) in all three events. He also ran professionally and was ranked in the United States and world while competing in three Olympic trials.
Dr. Einspahr’s teams are known not only for their competitiveness, but also for their work in the classroom. In 2009 and 2010, the Concordia Track & Field Teams had more NAIA Scholar-Athletes (Academic All-Americans) than any school in the conference or national association.
Kregg and his wife, Suzanne, reside in Seward with their sons, Jackson and Kieran. Kregg enjoys biking, hiking, fishing, reading, and gardening.
Contact Coach Einspahr
- 402-643-7333(office) • Kregg.Einspahr@cune.edu
Suzanne Weeder-Einspahr, assistant coach
Suzanne continues to assist her husband with the cross country program at Concordia.
Collegiately she was a two-time NAIA national champion, winning the indoor mile and outdoor 3000 in 1994. She continues to compete throughout the world, running in Beijing, China with the Women’s Ekiden Team in 2004.
