North Dakota State University Men's Cross Country

Larsons guidance, the Bison have claimed seven of the last eight Summit League outdoor team championships, along with four indoor league crowns. NDSU has captured six consecutive Summit League outdoor team titles, winning the league every year since 2010.   In 36 years as the head coach at NDSU, Larson has directed his track & field and cross country teams to 51 conference team championships. He is a 10-time Summit League Coach of the Year.   NDSU showed no signs of slowing down in 2015, recording the fourth-highest point total in league history at the Summit League Outdoor Championships and qualifying 10 student-athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, marking the largest group of national qualifiers in the schools Division I history.   From 2013-15, four different Bison men have earned All-American honors at the NCAA Championships, led by seventh-place finishes from Andy Lillejord (heptathlon, 2013) and Matti Mortimore (javelin, 2015).   In 2008, 2010 and 2011, NDSU swept the Summit League indoor and outdoor team titles, along with bringing home the indoor crown in 2009.   In 2009, Larson helped guide the program to new heights when Bison senior Matt Bishoff finished11th in the heptathlon at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships to earn NDSUs first-ever Division I All-America honor.   In NDSUs first season in the Summit League in 2008, Larson led the Bison to the conference titles in both indoor and outdoor track & field.   In the programs first three years at the Division I level, Larson guided the Bison to three team titles at the Division I Independent Championships. In 2005, the first year of Division I competition, NDSU claimed eight individual titles and two relay golds at the Independent Championships en route to a dominating victory.   In his first 25 years, all at the Division II level, the Bison captured 36 total North Central Conference titles including a conference-record string of 13 consecutive outdoor titles (1987-99) and 20 of the last 22 outdoor crowns.   He coached a total of 193 NCAA Division II All-America performances including four individual competitors who won 11 national championships, headed by seven-time NCAA Division II national champion and 1991 Drake Relays 10,000 meter champion Doug Hanson.   Larsons indoor track & field success included 14 NCC titles and seven runner-up finishes. NDSU participated in 19 NCAA Division II national indoor meets, finishing fourth once, fifth on three occasions, sixth once and seventh twice.   NDSUs outdoor squad was even more successful, capturing the NCC crown 21 times. During Larsons reign, the Bison placed no worse than third. North Dakota State had success at the Division II national meet as well, finishing in the top 10 seven times including a third-place finish in 2004, the schools best finish at a national meet.   As the head cross country coach, he also coached nine cross country athletes to 13 NCAA Division II All-America awards.   Philosophically, our program believes that we need to work hard, train hard, train smart and still have a lot of fun, said Larson, the United States Track Coaches Associations 2004 Division II indoor and outdoor National Coach of the Year.   I think weve been able to balance having time for school, having time for sport and still having free time for family and friends.   Most of the athletes we get know the main ingredients of success are hard work and dedication, Larson said. Our goal is to help them continue to grow and develop. We want to help them make the best of their collegiate careers at NDSU.   The North Central Conference was nothing new to the coach when he took over the Bison in 1979. While competing for conference rival South Dakota State University (1971-76), Larson captured two All-America awards and seven NCC championships in track & field.   He set three league records and still holds a share of the retired 600-yard indoor mark of 1:11.90 set in 1975. Larson captured his All-America honors in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 1972 (6th) and 1975 (4th).   Larson, a native of Madison, S.D., holds a bachelors degree in physical education from South Dakota State and a masters degree in physical education from Minnesota State University-Moorhead. He coached at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., prior to joining the Bison.   Larson, a 54-time Coach of the Year at various levels, was the 1998 recipient of South Dakota States Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence and is a member of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays Hall of Fame.   Larsons wife, Desiree, has held assistant coaching duties in the high jump for 20 years at NDSU. The coaches have two children, Kelsey and Kira. Larson's Record Cross Country Year Team Conf. NCAA 1979 North Dakota State 2nd --- 1980 North Dakota State 7th --- 1981 North Dakota State 3rd 6th 1982 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 1983 North Dakota State 2nd 4th 1984 North Dakota State 2nd 9th 1985 North Dakota State 2nd 16th 1986 North Dakota State 2nd 7th 1987 North Dakota State 3rd 10th 1988 North Dakota State 4th 13th 1989 North Dakota State 4th 10th 1990 North Dakota State 2nd 10th 1991 North Dakota State 5th --- 1992 North Dakota State 4th --- 1993 North Dakota State 4th --- 1994 North Dakota State 4th --- 1995 North Dakota State 4th 17th 1996 North Dakota State 2nd 10th 1997 North Dakota State 3rd 11th 1998 North Dakota State 3rd 8th (t) 1999 North Dakota State 6th --- 2000 North Dakota State 4th --- 2001 North Dakota State 4th --- 2002 North Dakota State 3rd --- 2003 North Dakota State 2nd 8th 2004 North Dakota State 2nd* --- 2005 North Dakota State 2nd* --- 2006 North Dakota State 1st* --- Year Team Summit Finish NCAA Finish 2007 North Dakota State 7th --- 2008 North Dakota State 4th --- 2009 North Dakota State 6th --- 2010 North Dakota State 3rd --- 2011 North Dakota State 2nd --- 2012 North Dakota State T-6th --- 2013 North Dakota State 4th --- 2014 North Dakota State 4th --- Totals 36  years 2 titles *Division I Independent Championships Indoor Track & Field Year Team Conf. NCAA 1980 North Dakota State 1st No meet 1981 North Dakota State 5th No meet 1982 North Dakota State 4th No meet 1983 North Dakota State 1st No meet 1984 North Dakota State 1st No meet 1985 North Dakota State 1st 7th 1986 North Dakota State 1st No meet 1987 North Dakota State 2nd 18th 1988 North Dakota State 2nd 7th (t) 1989 North Dakota State 2nd 4th 1990 North Dakota State 1st 5th 1991 North Dakota State 6th --- 1992 North Dakota State 4th 28th 1993 North Dakota State 1st 20th (t) 1994 North Dakota State 1st 5th 1995 North Dakota State 1st 11th (t) 1996 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 1997 North Dakota State 2nd 11th (t) 1998 North Dakota State 2nd 8th (t) 1999 North Dakota State 2nd 6th 2000 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 2001 North Dakota State 1st 18th (t) 2002 North Dakota State 2nd 10th (t) 2003 North Dakota State 1st 13th (t) 2004 North Dakota State 1st 5th 2005 North Dakota State --- --- 2006 North Dakota State --- --- 2007 North Dakota State --- --- Year Team Summit Finish NCAA Finish 2008 North Dakota State 1st --- 2009 North Dakota State 1st --- 2010 North Dakota State 1st --- 2011 North Dakota State 1st --- 2012 North Dakota State 3rd --- 2013 North Dakota State 2nd 49th (t) 2014 North Dakota State 2nd --- 2015 North Dakota State 2nd --- Totals 36 years 18 titles Outdoor Track & Field Year Team Conf. NCAA 1980 North Dakota State 1st 12th (t) 1981 North Dakota State 3rd --- 1982 North Dakota State 3rd 48th (t) 1983 North Dakota State 1st 14th (t) 1984 North Dakota State 1st 10th (t) 1985 North Dakota State 1st 13th 1986 North Dakota State 2nd 39th (t) 1987 North Dakota State 1st 22nd (t) 1988 North Dakota State 1st 8th 1989 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 1990 North Dakota State 1st 15th 1991 North Dakota State 1st 6th (t) 1992 North Dakota State 1st 43rd (t) 1993 North Dakota State 1st 15th 1994 North Dakota State 1st 24th 1995 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 1996 North Dakota State 1st 20th (t) 1997 North Dakota State 1st 20th (t) 1998 North Dakota State 1st 11th 1999 North Dakota State 1st 17th (t) 2000 North Dakota State 2nd 15th (t) 2001 North Dakota State 1st 16th 2002 North Dakota State 1st 34th 2003 North Dakota State 1st 8th 2004 North Dakota State 1st 3rd 2005 North Dakota State 1st* --- 2006 North Dakota State 1st* --- 2007 North Dakota State 1st* --- Year Team Summit Finish NCAA Reg./Champ Finish 2008 North Dakota State 1st --- 2009 North Dakota State 2nd 33rd/--- 2010 North Dakota State 1st --- 2011 North Dakota State 1st --- 2012 North Dakota State 1st --- 2013 North Dakota State 1st --- 2014 North Dakota State 1st --- 2015 North Dakota State 1st T-68th Totals 36 years 31 titles *Division I Independent Championships Going into his 37th season as the head mens track & field and cross country coach for the Bison in 2015-16, Don Larson has established a championship track & field tradition at North Dakota State.   Under Larsons guidance, the Bison have claimed seven of the last eight Summit League outdoor team championships, along with four indoor league crowns. NDSU has captured six consecutive Summit League outdoor team titles, winning the league every year since 2010.   In 36 years as the head coach at NDSU, Larson has directed his track & field and cross country teams to 51 conference team championships. He is a 10-time Summit League Coach of the Year.   NDSU showed no signs of slowing down in 2015, recording the fourth-highest point total in league history at the Summit League Outdoor Championships and qualifying 10 student-athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, marking the largest group of national qualifiers in the schools Division I history.   From 2013-15, four different Bison men have earned All-American honors at the NCAA Championships, led by seventh-place finishes from Andy Lillejord (heptathlon, 2013) and Matti Mortimore (javelin, 2015).   In 2008, 2010 and 2011, NDSU swept the Summit League indoor and outdoor team titles, along with bringing home the indoor crown in 2009.   In 2009, Larson helped guide the program to new heights when Bison senior Matt Bishoff finished11th in the heptathlon at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships to earn NDSUs first-ever Division I All-America honor.   In NDSUs first season in the Summit League in 2008, Larson led the Bison to the conference titles in both indoor and outdoor track & field.   In the programs first three years at the Division I level, Larson guided the Bison to three team titles at the Division I Independent Championships. In 2005, the first year of Division I competition, NDSU claimed eight individual titles and two relay golds at the Independent Championships en route to a dominating victory.   In his first 25 years, all at the Division II level, the Bison captured 36 total North Central Conference titles including a conference-record string of 13 consecutive outdoor titles (1987-99) and 20 of the last 22 outdoor crowns.   He coached a total of 193 NCAA Division II All-America performances including four individual competitors who won 11 national championships, headed by seven-time NCAA Division II national champion and 1991 Drake Relays 10,000 meter champion Doug Hanson.   Larsons indoor track & field success included 14 NCC titles and seven runner-up finishes. NDSU participated in 19 NCAA Division II national indoor meets, finishing fourth once, fifth on three occasions, sixth once and seventh twice.   NDSUs outdoor squad was even more successful, capturing the NCC crown 21 times. During Larsons reign, the Bison placed no worse than third. North Dakota State had success at the Division II national meet as well, finishing in the top 10 seven times including a third-place finish in 2004, the schools best finish at a national meet.   As the head cross country coach, he also coached nine cross country athletes to 13 NCAA Division II All-America awards.   Philosophically, our program believes that we need to work hard, train hard, train smart and still have a lot of fun, said Larson, the United States Track Coaches Associations 2004 Division II indoor and outdoor National Coach of the Year.   I think weve been able to balance having time for school, having time for sport and still having free time for family and friends.   Most of the athletes we get know the main ingredients of success are hard work and dedication, Larson said. Our goal is to help them continue to grow and develop. We want to help them make the best of their collegiate careers at NDSU.   The North Central Conference was nothing new to the coach when he took over the Bison in 1979. While competing for conference rival South Dakota State University (1971-76), Larson captured two All-America awards and seven NCC championships in track & field.   He set three league records and still holds a share of the retired 600-yard indoor mark of 1:11.90 set in 1975. Larson captured his All-America honors in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 1972 (6th) and 1975 (4th).   Larson, a native of Madison, S.D., holds a bachelors degree in physical education from South Dakota State and a masters degree in physical education from Minnesota State University-Moorhead. He coached at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., prior to joining the Bison.   Larson, a 54-time Coach of the Year at various levels, was the 1998 recipient of South Dakota States Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence and is a member of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays Hall of Fame.   Larsons wife, Desiree, has held assistant coaching duties in the high jump for 20 years at NDSU. The coaches have two children, Kelsey and Kira. Larson's Record Cross Country Year Team Conf. NCAA 1979 North Dakota State 2nd --- 1980 North Dakota State 7th --- 1981 North Dakota State 3rd 6th 1982 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 1983 North Dakota State 2nd 4th 1984 North Dakota State 2nd 9th 1985 North Dakota State 2nd 16th 1986 North Dakota State 2nd 7th 1987 North Dakota State 3rd 10th 1988 North Dakota State 4th 13th 1989 North Dakota State 4th 10th 1990 North Dakota State 2nd 10th 1991 North Dakota State 5th --- 1992 North Dakota State 4th --- 1993 North Dakota State 4th --- 1994 North Dakota State 4th --- 1995 North Dakota State 4th 17th 1996 North Dakota State 2nd 10th 1997 North Dakota State 3rd 11th 1998 North Dakota State 3rd 8th (t) 1999 North Dakota State 6th --- 2000 North Dakota State 4th --- 2001 North Dakota State 4th --- 2002 North Dakota State 3rd --- 2003 North Dakota State 2nd 8th 2004 North Dakota State 2nd* --- 2005 North Dakota State 2nd* --- 2006 North Dakota State 1st* --- Year Team Summit Finish NCAA Finish 2007 North Dakota State 7th --- 2008 North Dakota State 4th --- 2009 North Dakota State 6th --- 2010 North Dakota State 3rd --- 2011 North Dakota State 2nd --- 2012 North Dakota State T-6th --- 2013 North Dakota State 4th --- 2014 North Dakota State 4th --- Totals 36  years 2 titles *Division I Independent Championships Indoor Track & Field Year Team Conf. NCAA 1980 North Dakota State 1st No meet 1981 North Dakota State 5th No meet 1982 North Dakota State 4th No meet 1983 North Dakota State 1st No meet 1984 North Dakota State 1st No meet 1985 North Dakota State 1st 7th 1986 North Dakota State 1st No meet 1987 North Dakota State 2nd 18th 1988 North Dakota State 2nd 7th (t) 1989 North Dakota State 2nd 4th 1990 North Dakota State 1st 5th 1991 North Dakota State 6th --- 1992 North Dakota State 4th 28th 1993 North Dakota State 1st 20th (t) 1994 North Dakota State 1st 5th 1995 North Dakota State 1st 11th (t) 1996 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 1997 North Dakota State 2nd 11th (t) 1998 North Dakota State 2nd 8th (t) 1999 North Dakota State 2nd 6th 2000 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 2001 North Dakota State 1st 18th (t) 2002 North Dakota State 2nd 10th (t) 2003 North Dakota State 1st 13th (t) 2004 North Dakota State 1st 5th 2005 North Dakota State --- --- 2006 North Dakota State --- --- 2007 North Dakota State --- --- Year Team Summit Finish NCAA Finish 2008 North Dakota State 1st --- 2009 North Dakota State 1st --- 2010 North Dakota State 1st --- 2011 North Dakota State 1st --- 2012 North Dakota State 3rd --- 2013 North Dakota State 2nd 49th (t) 2014 North Dakota State 2nd --- 2015 North Dakota State 2nd --- Totals 36 years 18 titles Outdoor Track & Field Year Team Conf. NCAA 1980 North Dakota State 1st 12th (t) 1981 North Dakota State 3rd --- 1982 North Dakota State 3rd 48th (t) 1983 North Dakota State 1st 14th (t) 1984 North Dakota State 1st 10th (t) 1985 North Dakota State 1st 13th 1986 North Dakota State 2nd 39th (t) 1987 North Dakota State 1st 22nd (t) 1988 North Dakota State 1st 8th 1989 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 1990 North Dakota State 1st 15th 1991 North Dakota State 1st 6th (t) 1992 North Dakota State 1st 43rd (t) 1993 North Dakota State 1st 15th 1994 North Dakota State 1st 24th 1995 North Dakota State 1st 7th (t) 1996 North Dakota State 1st 20th (t) 1997 North Dakota State 1st 20th (t) 1998 North Dakota State 1st 11th 1999 North Dakota State 1st 17th (t) 2000 North Dakota State 2nd 15th (t) 2001 North Dakota State 1st 16th 2002 North Dakota State 1st 34th 2003 North Dakota State 1st 8th 2004 North Dakota State 1st 3rd 2005 North Dakota State 1st* --- 2006 North Dakota State 1st* --- 2007 North Dakota State 1st* --- Year Team Summit Finish NCAA Reg./Champ Finish 2008 North Dakota State 1st --- 2009 North Dakota State 2nd 33rd/--- 2010 North Dakota State 1st --- 2011 North Dakota State 1st --- 2012 North Dakota State 1st --- 2013 North Dakota State 1st --- 2014 North Dakota State 1st --- 2015 North Dakota State 1st T-68th Totals 36 years 31 titles *Division I Independent Championships

Carlson is in his third full season directing the distance runners for the North Dakota State mens and womens track & field and cross country teams in 2016-17. In 2016, Carlson directed NDSU's Erin Teschuk to four All-America honors -- one in cross country, two in indoor track, and one in outdoor track. His training plan guided Teschuk to a spot on Team Canada for the 2016 Rio Olympics after she captured the Canadian national championship in the 3,000m steeplechase in July. Teschuk's accomplishments resulted in her signing a professional contact with ASICS Furman Elite. During the 2016 track campaign alone, Carlson coached NDSU athletes to 12 new marks that rank among NDSU's all-time top 10 lists in the distance events.   Carlson guided the Bison distance program to new levels of success on the national scene in 2015, coaching athletes to a total of four first-team All-America honors. Teschuk was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year and claimed first-team All-American recognition in the mile and 3,000m indoors, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively, at the NCAA Championships. Outdoors, Carlson coached Teschuk and Maddie Van Beek to top-eight finishes in the 3,000m steeplechase at the NCAA meet. Van Beek was named The Summit League's Indoor and Outdoor Championships Track MVP after scoring 28 points with two event titles at the indoor meet and netting 24 points outdoors. On the men's side in 2015, Brett Kelly won a Summit League title in the steeplechase and was the highest Summit League finisher in a men's track event at the NCAA Prelims. Carlson led a resurgence in the Bison men's cross country program that saw two meet titles and the highest finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional since 2011.   A 2005 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Carlson was a two-time NCAA All-American in cross country and set the school record in the 5,000 meters at 13:44.64. He was the 2002 and 2004 NCAA Midwest Region champion in cross country, a two-time runner-up in the Big Ten outdoor 5,000 meters, and also owns the second-fastest time in school history in the 10,000 meters (28:56:59).   Post-collegiately, he joined Team USA Minnesota in 2005, and won the USA 15K road championship in 2008. He was also a member of the 2011 U.S. squad that competed in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain.   From 2008-10, Carlson trained with the McMillan Elite training group in Flagstaff, Ariz., during which time he won the 2010 USA 25K title, before rejoining Team USA Minnesota late in 2010. In 2012, Carlson placed sixth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:11.24 -- a time that still stands as the seventh-fastest marathon debut in U.S. history.   Carlson is a graduate of Fargo South High School where he was a four-time all-state honoree and a North Dakota state cross country champion.