Arizona State University Women's Cross Country

Rasmussen will still oversee many of the administrative and day-to-day operational responsibilities within the track and field program, while also assisting coach Quintana with the cross country team. Prior to returning to ASU, Rasmussen spent six seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois.  The 2015-16 season saw one of Rasmussen's athletes -- CJ Albertson -- leap frog him on the ASU all-time record list in his primary event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Albertson went on to qualify for his first NCAA Championship in the steeplechase under Rasmussen's guidance.  From 2014-15, Rasmussen assisted in the coaching of one of the most decorated athletes in cross country/track & field history in Shelby Houlihan. Houlihan was a 12-time All-American, a 2014 National Champion in the 1,500-meter, and a four-time Pac-12 Champion.  During the 2013 season at Illinois, Rasmussen coached Courtney Yaeger as she reset her school record in the 10,000m, finishing third at the Big Ten Championships. He also coached nine athletes into the Illinois school record books throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons. That included the first time in school history for three women (Katie Porada, Alyssa Schneider and Courtney Yaeger) to run under 16:30 in the 5,000m.  Helped Katie Porada score six points individually at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, as she finished sixth in the 1,500m and sixth in her first ever 5,000m. While at Illinois in 2012, Rasmussen coached Courtney Yaeger as she broke the program record in the 10,000m and set the eighth fastest 5,000m time during the outdoor season. He also coached Madeline Aufmann and Amber Stack as they both scored points for the Illini in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Big Ten Championships. Both athletes' times rank third and fourth fastest in the school records books, respectively. Katie Porada also scored points for the Orange and Blue at the conference meet, running the fifth-fastest 1,500m time in school history. All four athletes qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round of Championships in their respective events. On the track in 2011, Rasmussen coached Chantelle Groenewoud to her first career All-America honors in the 3,000m steeplechase while Stephanie Morgan picked up Honorable Mention All-America honors in the 1,500m. Both athletes recorded the second-fastest times in school history in their respective events, which included a Drake Relays record by Morgan in her 1,500m victory. Morgan was a second-team All-Big Ten selection following her runner-up finish in the indoor 800m, and Groenewoud grabbed the accolade in the steeplechase at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Elizabeth Boyle also twice broke the program record in the 10,000m during the season. Under Rasmussen's guidance, the 2010 track season was highlighted by Angela Bizzarri's third national title and four Big Ten titles from the nine-time All-American. Bizzarri won the indoor 3,000m national crown, completing the circuit as a cross country, indoor and outdoor national champion, which only seven other women have done in NCAA history. She also successfully doubled at both conference championships, winning the 3,000m and 5,000m titles at the indoor meet and the 1,500m and 5,000m at the outdoor meet. For her accomplishments, Bizzarri received her third consecutive Dike Eddleman Award as Illinois' female athlete of the year. Rasmussen's distance crew also accomplished a first for Illinois at the 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Championships by scoring in all four distance events, with Bizzarri in the 1,500m and 5,000m, Groenewoud and Maddie Aufmann in the 3,000m steeplechase, and Boyle in the 10,000m. In total, five distance runners qualified for the NCAA Preliminary Round of Championship, making Illinois one of 13 programs to be represented in every distance event at the prelims. At the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Illini notched a third consecutive top-12 finish under Rasmussen's guidance, a feat accomplished by only six other teams. The Orange and Blue placed 12th as a team, while senior Angela Bizzarri became the first Illinois women's cross country runner to ever win the NCAA cross country title, posting a school-record time of 19:46 in her victory. The Mason, Ohio, native was named the USTFCCCA National Cross Country Athlete of the Year and the Midwest Region Athlete of the Year along with winning the Honda Sports Award. During the 2009 track season, Rasmussen guided Bizzarri to her first national title with her victory in the 5,000m at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She became the seventh national champion in school history, was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Track Athlete of the Year, notched her second consecutive NCAA Mideast Regional title and won the first Big Ten title of her career at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. She also took third in the 5,000m at the USA Championships with a personal-best and school-record time of 15:33.02. In 2008, Illinois took 10th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, led by Bizzarri (6th) and senior Katie Engel (22nd). Bizzarri earned All-America accolades for the third consecutive season while Engel notched her first All-America honors, marking the first time two Illini earned the award in one season. At the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional, Illinois finished second behind Minnesota with Bizzarri, Engel, Groenewoud, Sutherland and Boyle earning All-Region honors. Illinois also fared well at the 2008 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., under Rasmussen's tutelage, finishing in fourth place for the second consecutive season in one of the most competitive conference meets in the country. Engel and Bizzarri finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to take home first-team All-Big Ten honors. Rasmussen also coached freshmen Danelle Woods and Groenewoud to appearances at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 3,000m steeplechase in 2008, after Woods was NCAA Mideast Regional champion in the event and Groenewoud was close behind in second. Bizzarri, Woods and Groenewoud all earned All-Region honors. Rasmussen guided the Illini to a sixth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the program's second-best finish in school history, and a successful showing at the 2007 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, where Illinois took second place behind All-Region runners Bizzarri, Engel and Woods. At the 2007 Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio, Illinois finished fourth thanks to Bizzarri, a first-team All-Big Ten selection; Engel, a second-team All-Big Ten selection; and Woods, the 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Rasmussen led the Illini cross country squad to a top-10 national ranking for the duration of the 2007 season and a top-15 ranking during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Rasmussen joined the Illini in the summer of 2007 after spending the previous three seasons working with the men's and women's track and field and cross country teams at Arizona State. A former student-athlete for the Sun Devils, Rasmussen was elevated to assistant coach in the 2006 season after serving as a graduate assistant for two seasons and as a volunteer coach during the 2003-04 season. As a member of the Arizona State staff, Rasmussen helped the Sun Devil distance corps become one of the nation's elite. The women's cross country team finished second at the Pac-10 Championships each of Rasmussen's three years with the program. In addition, Rasmussen helped guide the Sun Devils to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2005 and 13th-place finish in 2006. A star in the steeplechase as a student-athlete, Rasmussen has worked with several of the top steeplers in the nation in recent years, including four-time Pac-10 steeplechase champion Aaron Aguayo and women's champions Amy Hastings, Anna Masinelli and Brooke Bennett. Prior to the 2006 cross country season, Rasmussen also worked with Lisa Aguilera when she won the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2006 USA Track & Field Championships. Prior to his coaching and administrative duties, Rasmussen starred for the Sun Devils in both cross country and track and field. The 2000 Pac-10 champion in the 3,000m steeplechase and runner-up in both 2001 and 2002, Rasmussen helped the 2001 ASU men break the 100-point barrier at the conference competition for the first time in program history. In cross country, Rasmussen assisted the men's team in making history as the 1999 squad advanced to its first NCAA Championships appearance, placing 14th. A Minnesota native and graduate of Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Ariz., Rasmussen earned his bachelor's degree in computer information systems from Arizona State in 2003 and his master's in higher education from ASU in 2006. Rasmussen is certified as a USA Track and Field Level II coach. Rasmussen and his wife, Annamarie, were wed in December 2010 and reside in Champaign. B.S., Arizona State University (2003) M.S. Ed, Arizona State University (2006) Arizona State University - Assistant Coach, 2014-Present University of Illinois - Assistant Coach, 2007-2013 Arizona State University - Assistant Coach, 2006-07  Arizona State University - Graduate Assistant Coach, 2004-06  Arizona State University - Volunteer Assistant Coach, 2003-04 Coached one of only eight ever female distance athletes to win a national title in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track (Angela Bizzarri) Coached three-time Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year, 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, 2009 USTFCCCA National Cross Country Athlete of the Year, 2009 Honda Sports Award Winner for Cross Country and 2009 Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Angela Bizzarri) Coached all school record holders in cross country, indoor and outdoor from 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 10000m, DMR and 6K cross country Coached seven of the top-10 6K performers in school history in cross country Saw athletes score in all four distance events at the 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Championships (first time in school history) and repeated feat in 2011 Second place team at 2009 Big Ten Cross Country Championships tied best finish in school history First time in school history to have four All-Big Ten performers at 2009 Big Ten Cross Country Championships Team's sixth-place finish at 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships ranks as the program's second-best finish ever

Kraft has served as the Director of Track & Field at Arizona State University, a tenure in which the Sun Devils have risen to the ranks of the nation's elite all-around programs with four national titles in track & field and 12 total Top 4 finishes at NCAA Championship events (including cross country). In fact, those trophy finishes account for 12 of the 19 Top 4 showings the program has had in its history. After taking over the program in 1996, the second-longest tenured coach in ASU track & field history (Baldy Castillo led the way for 26 seasons) has built a program that consistently attracts the top talent in the nation to Tempe that challenges for national titles, conference gold and high academic achievements. A four-time USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year and three-time Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kraft has become a highly decorated coach that continually works with some of the highest decorated student-athletes. Kraft has led his teams to four NCAA titles, including the 2007 women's indoor and outdoor crowns and the 2008 men's and women's indoor titles, and has done so with some of the top student-athletes in the nation.  In recent years, the likes of high jump National Champion Bryan McBride, four-time NCAA Champion Jordan Clarke, six-time NCAA champion Ryan Whiting (a Bowerman Award finalist), and seven-time NCAA champion Jacquelyn Johnson (a Honda Award finalist) have been a part of Kraft's program. Since the 2004-05 academic year, the Sun Devils have won four NCAA titles, three Pac-10 crowns and placed in the Top 4 nationally 12 times, including twice in cross country. He's also mentored 2016 Olympic jumpers Chris Benard (USA) and Christabel Nettey (Canada), along with 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Dwight Phillips.  The 2007 and 2008 seasons were perhaps the most `golden' times in Kraft's tenure so far as his women won three national titles and the men one, including a sweep of both crowns at the 2008 indoor meet. In 2008, Johnson won the sixth and seventh national titles of her career, including her third indoor pentathlon with a collegiate record score and her fourth outdoor heptathlon title, while Kyle Alcorn captured a pair of titles, including the indoor 3,000m run and the outdoor 3,000m steeplechase. Whiting also set the collegiate indoor shot put mark while winning his first national crown. The women also nearly swept the team titles for a second year in a row, falling just short of LSU in the outdoor meet to snap a three-title streak (2007 indoor, 2007 outdoor, 2008 indoor). The women also added their third-consecutive Pac-10 title and an MPSF crown. The 2007 season was certainly one for the record books as well as four women combined to win five individual national titles to carry the Sun Devils to both the 2007 NCAA Indoor and 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the first national crowns in program history for the women. Kraft's women coupled that success with a pair of conference titles, winning the indoor MPSF and outdoor Pac-10 Championships, while also winning the NCAA West Region for the first time. The women's Pac-10 title was their second in a row and it was almost a sweep as the men fell three points shy of their first crown since 1981. Individually, Johnson defended her national titles in the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon while the shot put was swept by Sun Devils with Stevens and Pressley winning the indoor and outdoor crowns, respectively. Kubishta won the outdoor pole vault, giving ASU it's first title in the event since 1994, when Olympic champion Hysong took gold. All-told, 10 different women combined to secure 18 All-America honors in 2007, including three by senior Amy Hastings, who tied Maicel Malone for the most all-time in ASU history with 10 (Stevens later broke that record with 15 in her career). That record has since been broke by Stevens, who ended her career in 2009 with 15 total honors. The men also turned in solid performances throughout the year, including Aguayo, who captured the 3,000m steeplechase at the Pac-10 Championships, becoming only the 11th athlete in Pac-10 history to win the same event four times. The third-place finisher at the national meet, Aguayo was one of five men that earned All-America honors in 2007, including Turner, the 2007 Pac-10 champion, in the indoor long jump and Whiting, a redshirt freshman, in the indoor and outdoor shot put. During his time in Tempe, the Sun Devils have won four national team titles, 32 individual national titles and earned 284 All-America honors, including 231 in individual track & field events, 34 in relays and 19 in cross country. On the conference level, Kraft's Sun Devils have won three Pac-12 and three MPSF team titles (two women's, one men's) and collected 182 total conference crowns, including 104 individual Pac-12 titles and 17 relay wins outdoors while adding 78 MPSF individual titles and 12 in the relays. Some of the more successful Sun Devils in program history have become multiple champions under Kraft, including men's champions Aaron Aguayo, the only four-time steeplechase champion in conference history, Marcus Brunson (100m and 200m champion in the same season) and a pair of two-time long jump champions in Dwight Phillips and Matt Turner. On the women's side, Tiffany Greer is the only three-time long jump champion, Charonda Williams is the only woman to sweep the 100m and 200m in back-to-back years, and distance stalwarts Lisa Aguilera (steeplechase) and Kelly MacDonald (5,000m) both won twice at the Pac-10 meet. Away from Tempe, several of his athletes have traded in their maroon and gold and put on their nation's colors in international competition. Some of those Team USA members include 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Phillips (long jump), 2008 Beijing Olympians Jacquelyn Johnson (heptathlon, USA), Trevell Quinley (long jump, USA) and Joel Phillip (400m, Grenada), and 2016 Rio Olympians Chris Benard (triple jump, USA) and Christabel Nettey (long jump, Canada). Nettey won the Canadian trials in 2016, while Benard placed 3rd at the U.S. Trials to grab the final spot for Team USA. The academic side of the student-athlete also has found great success under Kraft. As a team, the his women have twice been named the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team of the Year for track & field while continually placing multiple individuals on several academic teams. Lewis was named the USTFCCCA Men's Division Indoor Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2009, marking the fifth national honor the program has received. Sun Devils have been selected Academic All-Americans by CoSIDA a total of 22 times under Kraft while there have been 145 honors as part of the National All-Academic selections made by the USTFCCCA. In the Pac-12, 184 individuals have earned first or second team honors in track & field while 101 have been selected to the same teams in cross country. Kraft was introduced as ASU's head coach July 28, 1996, after spending seven years guiding the track & field and cross country programs at the University of South Carolina where he was the 1996 SEC Coach of the Year. During Kraft's tenure at USC, he rebuilt the men's program into a league power and constructed the women's program from scratch. Kraft also headed up the men's program transition from the Metro Conference to the SEC. The result of Kraft's work was both quick and remarkable. The Gamecock men's squad took just three years to climb from 22 points and a 10th-place finish to 74 points and a fourth-place finish at the 12-team conference meet. The three teams ahead of South Carolina were recent NCAA champions Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU. On the women's side, the South Carolina climb was as impressive as it was quick. In four years, they went from a basic walk-on program that finished 10th in the SEC (13 points) to second (103) behind eventual national champion LSU. The women then went on to score 26 points at the NCAA Outdoors to tie UCLA for ninth. And the Gamecocks were to return 102 of their 103 conference points, plus all 26 NCAA points. What made the building of the women's program even more astounding was it had yet to be funded to the NCAA scholarship limits. Kraft, who is now entering his 37th year of Division I coaching and 28th as a head coach, has long been associated with successful track and field and cross country programs. As an assistant, Kraft tutored 26 All-Americans and 36 individual conference champions while helping guide his schools to four conference titles and three NCAA Top 10 finishes. He started his coaching career in 1979 as a graduate assistant coach at his Alma mater, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. During Kraft's one-year stint at Cal Poly, the Mustangs won the NCAA Division II titles in both track and field and cross country. Kraft's next stop was a one-year stint as the field events coach at Indiana State. In 1981, he moved on to a highly successful stint as an assistant at Kansas State University. During his four years at KSU, Kraft tutored 14 Big Eight champions and 16 NCAA All-Americans. One of the Wildcat pupils was 1996 Olympic triple jump champion Kenny Harrison. During his stint in Manhattan, KSU won a Big Eight championship in cross country and posted two Top 10 NCAA finishes in track, as well as four other Top 20 finishes. Kraft then headed to the University of Virginia in 1985, where his initial responsibilities included all field events. His duties were later expanded to include the sprints and hurdles. During his four-year stint in Charlottesville, his student-athletes won 20 individual Atlantic Coast Conference titles and earned seven All-America honors while capturing three ACC team titles. After 10 years as an assistant coach, Kraft was ready for a head coaching job and he was named South Carolina's head coach in 1989. At South Carolina, Kraft's cross country teams were twice named Academic All-America squads. Overall, 38 student-athletes were honored as Academic All-SEC selections and 11 student-athletes would earn All-America honors. Gamecock student-athletes won individual titles in the Metro Conference, SEC, NCAA Indoors, NCAA Outdoors, USA Indoors, USA Outdoors, the Olympic Festival, the Pan American Juniors and the 1996 USA Olympic Trials. He also mentored former ASU men's sprints/hurdles/relays coach Terry Winston, a two-time All-American and SEC runner-up in the hurdles for South Carolina. Kraft is married to the former Maggie Keyes of Mill Valley, Calif. Maggie is a former collegiate record-setting miler who won AIAW, TAC and Millrose Games titles. She was also a member of the USA's first-ever World Championship team in 1983. The Krafts have two sons, Kyle and Cory, who both graduated from ASU.