St. Olaf College Women's Track

Bretscher was named head coach for the St. Olaf women's track and field program on Aug. 20, 2015. Bretscher, who had been on staff at Cornell College (Iowa) for the previous three-plus seasons, is an assistant for the Ole women's cross country team as well. Bretscher coached the sprints, jumps and hurdles and was an assistant cross country coach at Cornell. Prior to her time there, she was an assistant track and field coach for two seasons at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., where for one year she also served as a compliance assistant. Bretscher has a USA Track and Field Level 2 (sprints, hurdles and relays) certification and is a member of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.  Bretscher was track and field student-athlete at DePauw University. She was the team's most valuable track performer in 2007, a coach's award winner in 2006 and broke five school records in her career. Bretscher stayed at DePauw as an assistant coach in 2009-10 and was an intern for the 2010 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. She graduated cum laude from DePauw with a B.A. in mathematics. She earned her M.Ed. in educational leadership from St. Lawrence in 2012. 

Erica Maker '04 is in her eighth season as the head women's cross country coach at St. Olaf in 2025-26 and also serves as an assistant coach for the women's track & field program. A 2004 graduate of St. Olaf, Maker was named to both positions on May 21, 2018. Maker has led St. Olaf to four consecutive top-20 national finishes in cross country over the last four seasons, as the Oles placed 13th in 2021, eighth in 2022, 16th in 2023, and 17th in 2024. St. Olaf has finished in the top two at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships in each of the last four seasons, winning team titles in 2021 and 2024 and finishing as the runner-up in 2022 and 2023. Maker was named the MIAC Coach of the Year in both 2021 and 2024. In Maker's six seasons of competition (2020 season canceled), St. Olaf has finished in the top three in the MIAC and in the top five in the region each season, including a second-place finish in 2024. The Oles have either qualified for the NCAA Championships as a team or sent at least one individual to the national meet in each year as well. St. Olaf has produced three All-Americans, 26 USTFCCCA All-Region honorees, 24 All-MIAC honorees, and 13 Honorable Mention All-MIAC honorees under Maker. Her teams have also excelled academically, receiving the USTFCCCA All-Academic Award in each season while producing 88 Academic All-MIAC honorees and 34 USTFCCCA All-Academic Athletes. In track and field, Maker's distance runners have accounted for six All-America accolades (3 indoor, 3 outdoor), 31 All-MIAC performances (14 indoor, 17 outdoor), and six individual MIAC championships (2 indoor, 4 outdoor). She has coached 11 national qualifiers as well. Prior to returning to St. Olaf, Maker was most recently an assistant cross country and track & field coach at NCAA Division I Marist College. She also spent time at Division III Vassar College following stints at NCAA Division III powers Williams College (2007-09, 2010-14) and Trinity University (Tex.) (2009-10). While Maker was at Williams, the Ephs made trips to the NCAA Division III National Championships in each season and had a combined five top-five finishes between the men's and women's programs at the national meet. Maker began her coaching career when she served as an assistant women's cross country coach at NCAA Division I Northwestern University.    THE OLES UNDER ERICA MAKER SEASON MIAC FINISH ALL-MIAC/HM All-MIAC HONOREES REGIONAL FINISH ALL-REGION HONOREES NCAA FINISH ALL-AMERICANS 2018 3rd/12 2/0 5th/29 2 Hawgood 82nd, Fisher 147th --- 2019 3rd/12 2/2 5th/30 4 Hawgood 28th 1 2020* --- --- --- --- --- --- 2021 1st/11 5/2 4th/32 4 13th/32 --- 2022 2nd/12 5/3 3rd/33 6 8th/32 1 2023 2nd/12 5/3 4th/31 5 16th/32 --- 2024 1st of 12 5/3 2nd/31 5 17th/32 1 *2020 season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic