Dennis Barker

Dennis Barker

Dennis Barker (Iowa State '80) will begin his 18th year as the Augsburg College head men's and women's track and field coach in 2012. Barker also doubles as the head men's and women's cross country coach, a position he has held since 1994.

Since 1995, Barker's teams have qualified 54 entrants in the NCAA championships in cross country and track and field, with 17 earning All-American honors. Forty-six track and field athletes have earned Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference individual titles under his leadership.

In addition to his coaching duties at Augsburg, Barker has also coached nationally-ranked post-collegiate athletes as part of Team USA Minnesota, a unique distance running training program to develop American Olympic-caliber athletes. Based cooperatively at the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College, the program is one of four distance-training efforts across the nation established by USA Track & Field, the governing body for the sport in this country and Running USA, a national trade association for road races and industry representatives.

Prior to coming to Augsburg, Barker served as an assistant men's cross country/ track and field coach at Iowa State and assistant men's and women's cross country/track and field coach at Golden Valley Lutheran College. He is also a certified USA Track and Field (USATF) Level II sprint and distance coach, and has authored training articles in the United States Track Coaches Association Review, Cross Country Journal, and Minnesota Running and Track magazines.

Previous Coaching Experience:
Head Coach- Team USA Minnesota
Assistant Coach- Iowa State University
Assistant Coach- Golden Valley Lutheran College

Running Experience/Acheivements:
A 1980 graduate of Iowa State University, Barker was captain of the Cyclones' cross country team. He competed in the NCAA cross country championships and set an ISU school record in the 10,000-meter run. Prior to attending Iowa State, Barker attended Golden Valley (Minn.) Lutheran College, where he was a junior college All-American in cross country and track, placing second in the NJCAA 10,000 meters and 10th in the NJCAA cross country national championships.

A native of St. James (Minn.), Barker was an all-state cross country and track athlete at St. James High School.

Barker's Personal Best Race Times:
5K: 14:41
8K: 24:22
10K: 29:58
Marathon: 2:25.47

Personal/Family Notes: