Hamline University Women's Track

One of the most decorated runners in HU history, Devin Monson was named the head men's and women's cross country coach in 2016 and is in his tenth season during the 2025-26 academic year. In the fall of 2020, Monson added the role of director of track and field operations to his title and will begin his fifth year in this position in the 2025 season. At the helm of the cross country program, Monson has coached two All-Americans in Helen Dolan and Fernando Benitez, who earned the honor in 2019. Dolan was the women’s team’s third All-American and the first in 10 years. Benitez was the men’s program’s 12th All-American and the first since 2011. Monson has also coached individuals to seven All-MIAC awards and seven All-MIAC Honorable Mention performances. Academically, the women’s program earned USTFCCCA All-Academic recognition seven times (2016-2020, 2022-2023), while the men earned the distinction five times (2016-2019, 2022) for maintaining a team GPA of at least 3.10.   On the track, Monson helped four distance runners qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 2020 indoor season and coached two student-athletes who broke school records - Alexandra Maddux set a new 1000-meter record (2:57.04) and Dolan set a new mile record (5:01.05). In Monson’s first year as the director of the track and field program, the Pipers sent four to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2021, with two (Dolan - 5000-meter run and Joe Martin - shot put) putting up All-American performances. Monson was a member of the Pipers' three consecutive men's cross country titles (2009-11), and the Thompson, North Dakota native (who is still the school record holder for the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races) also had his own individual honors. He was a three-time All-American, receiving the honor in the 2010 cross country season as well as earning it in the 5k and 10k races in the 2012 track and field season. In 2011, he bested 330 runners to finish first at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational held at the University of Minnesota. Monson also has three MIAC titles to his credit. He beat back the field to take the top spot at the 2010 men's cross country meet and in 2012, he won the 5,000 indoor race and 10,000 outdoor race at the MIAC Championships.  After graduation from HU, Monson spent a season as an assistant cross country coach at the U of North Dakota, but running was still in his blood. In 2013, he moved to Austin, Texas to train with the Rogue Athletic Club, an Olympic Development team led by Steve Sisson.  In 2014, Monson showed he still had the long-distance wheels by finishing 12th in the 10,000 Meters at the USA Track & Field Championships.    Although he had an impressive career of his own, Monson says his favorite part of coaching is “seeing my athletes achieve results they didn’t think were possible. I get as much joy out of their success as I did with my own running accomplishments.” Monson, an Exercise Science/Education major at Hamline, also holds a master’s degree in Education from UW-Stout.   Women's Cross Country Results  Year Conference Finish All-Conference Honorable Mention All-Americans 2016 8 of 12  -   -   -  2017 7 of 12  -  -  - 2018 5 of 12 2 1  - 2019 8 of 12 1 1  1 2020* - - - - 2021 9 of 12 1 - - 2022 9 of 12 - 1 - 2023 9 of 12 - - - 2024 9 of 12 - - - Totals  - 4  3  1 Men's Cross Country Results Year Conference Finish All-Conference Honorable Mention All-Americans 2016 6 of 11  -   2  -  2017 6 of 11  1  1  - 2018 9 of 11  -  1  - 2019 5 of 11  2  - 1 2020* - - - - 2021 10 of 11 - - - 2022 11 of 11 - - - 2023 11 of 11 - - - 2024 11 of 11 - - - Totals -  3  4 1   *The 2020 cross country season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Swanberg joined the Piper staff following a six-year stint as the head coach at Henry Sibley High School.  Swanbergs track and field coaching duties include horizontal jumps, pole vault, high jump and assisting the sprints group.   These were Swanbergs areas of expertise during his time as the head coach at Henry Sibley, as well as during his time as a standout athlete for the Pipers of Hamline.  Swanberg has coached several MIAC conference event champions and numerous all conference jumpers. Swanberg is married to Jennifer Engesether and has a little girl Avery, and a little boy Aiden.  Swanberg is a 1999 Hamline graduate and was voted captain in his senior year for the Pipers.  He remains ranked on the Hamline all-time list in the pole vault, long jump and triple jump. Shane Swanberg joined the Piper staff following a six-year stint as the head coach at Henry Sibley High School.  Swanbergs track and field coaching duties include horizontal jumps, pole vault, high jump and assisting the sprints group. 

Schmaedeke leads the Pipers as the director of track and field operations at Hamline. His responsibilities include serving as the head men's track and field coach and working with all middle-distance and distance runners on the track. He served as Hamline's head cross country coach until August when Devin Monson took over the program.  The 2016-17 athletic season will be Schmaedeke's 32nd in the Hamline athletic program as an athlete and coach, the last 22 of which as the men's track and field coach. In 22 years as a head coach in CC, Schmaedeke has coached 11 All-Americans. His men's team has won three of the last six MIAC CC championships. Not coincidentally, Schmaedeke was named Coach of the Year in the league in all three of those years. It is an honor he has won 14 times overall in his HU coaching career. In 2006, Schmaedeke was named Central Region Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA. The Pipers won the Central Regional en route to finishing 18th at the NCAA Championships. In 2005, Schmaedeke led the Pipers to their first MIAC Championship since 1977. The Pipers also finished third in Central Regional and seventh in the NCAA Championships. Schmaedeke was involved in Hamline cross country for more than three decades years as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach.  The 2000 team was his first to compete in the NCAA Championships. He was also named MIAC Indoor Track Coach of the Year in 2002 and again in 2005 and 2014. In 2015, he was named MIAC Outdoor Track Coach of the Year as HU finished second for the fourth time in six years. As an athlete, Schmaedeke was a four-year letter winner in cross country and track at Hamline. He competed on teams that won two MIAC cross country championships (1973, 1975) and four track titles (1974-1977). As a senior, he was co-captain of the Hamline cross country team. Prior to joining the Hamline staff in 1980, Schmaedeke was the head boys' track and field coach at Concordia Academy High School from 1978-79. Schmaedeke is noted for his persistence, patience, and well organized training that prepares his athletes to be competitive and steadily progress to their potential over the course of four years. Schmaedeke also lectures on training theory as a faculty member of the USA Track and Field Level II Coaches Certification School. He has spoke numerous times at the Minnesota High School Coaches Clinic for track and field. In recognition of his accomplishments as a student-athlete and a coach, Schmaedeke was inducted into the Hamline University Athletic Hall of Fame in January 2008. In 2015, he was added to the Row of Fame that adorns the north wall of Klas Field.  Schmaedeke earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Hamline in 1977. He later earned his master's from the University of Arizona in physical education in 1980. Paul Schmaedeke leads the Pipers as the director of track and field operations at Hamline. His responsibilities include serving as the head men's track and field coach and working with all middle-distance and distance runners on the track. He served as Hamline's head cross country coach until August when Devin Monson took over the program. 

Johnson-Hipp  is in her 21st year at the helm of the womens track and field program. In addition to running the overall program, she specificially coaches the sprinters and hurdlers.  She also coaches hurdles for the men's program.   Under her leadership, roster sizes have consistently gone upward. and the Pipers have continued to consistently produce national caliber performers. During the 2011 indoor season, Johnson-Hipp's Pipers put together a program-best third place finish at the MIAC Championships.    Johnson-Hipp was Hamlines first full-time head track & field coach from 1983-1996, and also was the head womens cross country coach from 1983-2000.  When she arrived at Hamline, she inherited a track and field team that finished last place in the MIAC, and brought them up to an eighth place finish her first year.  Four years later, the squad improved three spots to finish fifth overall. In cross country, the Pipers improved from last to fourth in one season, finishing fourth in both 1984 and 1985which is still their top finish historically. Johnson-Hipp took a sabbatical from coaching the collegiate ranks in 2000, but stayed involved as a track coach for her sons teams.  She was an assistant track coach at Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, Minnesota, where she mainly worked with sprinters, hurdlers and relay personnel.  During this time, she also continued teaching at Hamline in the teacher preparation program in physical education.    In 2007, Johnson-Hipp rejoined the track staff at Hamline for her second stint as head womens track and field coach.  She led the Pipers to a sixth place finish at the outdoor MIAC Championship meet. They have been climbing up the ladder both in number and in their conference finish ever since, and moved up to third in 2011.  In her career her teams have produced 33 provisional and national qualifiers, 14 All-Americans and two national champions.  Her teams have also consistently achieved All-Academic recognition from the NCAA Division III Coaches Association.      As an athlete, Johnson-Hipp was a five-time state champion in various hurdle events between her high school and college careers.  After receiving her bachelors degree in physical education and health from Mankato State University in 1980, she landed a teaching and coaching assistantship at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.  When she finished her masters degree in exercise science from UNO in 1983, she accepted a position at Hamline and has been teaching and/or coaching here ever since.  In 2010 she was awarded a state-wide Breaking Barriers award for her contributions to womens athletics. Johnson-Hipp holds Level II  USA Track and Field Coaching Education certifications in three different areas:  Sprint & Hurdles, Distance Events, and Jumps.  Coach Hipp enjoys dabbling in different fitness activities, and continues to hurdle herself as well.  She recently added another state championship to her resume, as she now holds the USATF state record in the 80-meter hurdles in her masters division and is also ranked nationally.    Shawn and her husband Charles reside in Saint Paul.   Her older son Carl, a 2011 grad, had a stellar basketball career at Hamline, and continued to play semi-pro basketball after college.  Her younger son Ryan graduated from Roseville High School, and is currently finishing his senior year at Elmhurst College..

Josh Blaschko was named the head men’s track and field coach in the fall of 2020 and will enter his seventh season at the helm during the 2027 season. Prior to taking over the program, he served as an assistant coach for seven years, working primarily with the Hamline throwers. Blaschko took over for long-time head coach Paul Schmaedeke, who retired after the 2020 season. In 2018 alone, the Piper throwers won seven individual MIAC championships. Kiana Verdugo (weight throw), Jessie Juenemann (shot put), and Eric Dols (weight throw) took indoor titles. At the outdoor meet, Dols was first in the shot put and hammer, Juenemann won the discus, and Savanna Keiser topped the field in the shot put. in 2021, Blaschko coached two-time All-American and MIAC Champion Joe Martin, who finished eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Most recently, Blaschko coached NCAA national qualifier Lexi Brainer, who competed in the weight throw at the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships after recording a top-10 national mark during the season. Prior to coming to Hamline, he spent one year coaching at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, two years as an assistant coach at Concordia University in St. Paul, and five years as a volunteer coach working with throwers at Lakeville South High School. In his first year with the Warriors, Blaschko helped coach NCAA Division III National Champion Elizabeth Krug in the javelin and shot put programs of the heptathlon. Krug also finished fifth at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships and won the Southern Athletic Association javelin title and was third in the shot put. In his first year at Concordia, Blaschko's throwers broke five school records on the men's side and three records on the women’s side. His throwers also turned in one All-NSIC performance with five additional point scorers at the conference meets. Additionally, his throwers recorded two NCAA provisional qualifying marks. During his second year at Concordia, his throwers broke two more school records on the men’s side and one record on the women’s side. Blaschko graduated from Hamline in 2010 with a B.A. in history and a minor in political science. He competed in the shot put and discus as a member of the HU track and field team for two years and received All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in the shot put three times. In high school, he competed for Lakeville where he was a Lake Conference Champion in the shot put as well as an All-Conference discus thrower. Blaschko has earned the Throwing Event Specialist and Strength & Conditioning Certifications from the USTFCCCA Academy, and is Level 1 Certified with USA Weightlifting. Josh Blaschko Head Coaching Numbers Men's Track and Field Results  Year Indoor Conference Finish Outdoor Conference Finish All-Conference Honorable Mention All-Americans 2021 - 9 of 11 3 -  1 2022 10th of 11 8th of 11 4 10 0 2023 9th of 11 9th of 11 4 4 0 2024 9th of 11 11th of 11 2 6 0 2025 8th of 11 8th of 11 1 4 2 2026 9th of 11 8th of 11 2 5 1 Totals  - -  15 29 4 *There were no MIAC Indoor Championships in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic