LUDTKE
NAMED NEW USF WOMEN’S CROSS
COUNTRY/TRACK COACH
For
Immediate Release
August 19, 2005
"Another
perfect fit."
That
is how University of St. Francis
director of athletics Dave Laketa
describes his latest coaching
acquisition in Drew Ludtke, who
was named as the university’s
head women’s cross country/track
coach on Friday, Aug. 19.
"Our
string of good luck continues
with Drew’s hiring,"
said Laketa, who has introduced
three new coaches in the past
year and nine over the past three
seasons. "The caliber of
coaches that we have been able
to attract in the past three years
has been phenomenal and only means
great things for our student-athletes
and programs.
"Drew
falls right into that classification.
We are excited that he has accepted
our challenge of rebuilding our
women’s cross country and
track programs, ones that we want
to see compete at the conference,
regional and national levels."
Ludtke
knows a little about rebuilding
programs, having done so in both
sports on the men’s and women’s
side at Lake Superior State University
in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
There,
the 29-year-old took over programs
that had 30 participants in 2002
and built them up to 74 student-athletes
this past spring. At the same
time, he developed 15 Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletics Conference
(GLIAC) all-conference athletes,
and 49 school records have been
established in the track program
under his tutelage. One of those
marks - a time of 14:36 in the
5,000-meter run - also serves
as a GLIAC record.
Ludtke
has also guided nine athletes
onto the NCAA performance list.
Prior
to his return to Lake Superior
State, where he earned a Bachelor
of Science in Education and Psychology
and graduated cum laude in 1999,
Ludtke served as both an assistant
and head cross country coach and
an assistant track coach for the
men’s and women’s programs
at North Texas State University
in Denton, Texas, from 1999-2002.
During that time, he also earned
a Masters of Science in Kinesiology.
Each
of Ludtke’s first two men’s
cross country teams fared well
at North Texas State, claiming
a Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Championship
in 2000 and a runner-up finish
in 2001. The women’s track
team also placed second in the
league in 2002 with the men’s
program earning the outdoor conference
crown later that year.
Of
those championship teams, nine
athletes went on to capture all-SBC
honors.
"As
a coach, Drew is excellent, but
what really set him apart from
the other 79 candidates for the
position was his ability to coach
the whole person," continued
Laketa. "He is interested
in developing each of his runners
as a full person, not just as
an athlete. That is what is most
important."
Ludtke’s
list of accomplishments is evidence
of that philosophy. Just last
year, he was chosen by the students
at Lake Superior State to receive
the Golden Anchor Service Award,
which is presented to the top
staff member at the school for
his/her commitment to the students.
One year earlier, Ludtke’s
track team was named the school’s
most outstanding organization
for their service and involvement
both inside and outside the school
community.
Ludtke
also gained praise as a teacher,
earning teaching fellow of the
year accolades twice while at
North Texas State University.
A
scholarship basketball player
upon his arrival to Lake Superior
State in 1995, Ludtke joined the
track team one year later and
also competed in cross country
for two seasons. On the court,
he was a member of the 1995-96
GLIAC championship team, while
in track he placed as high as
fifth in the league at the 1998
championships. He also ran for
the nationally-ranked Laker cross-country
team in 1998.
Ludtke
closed out his career at Lake
Superior State earning athlete-of-the-year
runner-up honors in 1998-99. That
same year, he was recognized as
the top athlete devoted to campus/athletic
development at the school and
was awarded the Bud Cooper Award
for that distinction. Included
in his involvement was serving
as the vice president of the student-athlete
advisory committee.
One
year earlier, he acted as president
of the university’s honors
program.
Ludtke
finished his track career at North
Texas State, where he earned his
fourth letter in the sport and
was a part of the Mean Green conference
championship team in 2000.
"These
are exciting times for the St.
Francis athletic department and
Drew is just another part of that
development," concluded Laketa.
"We can’t wait to see
the women’s cross country
and track programs take off under
his guidance."
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