Bethany Lutheran College is pleased to announce that it will be adding track and field to its athletic program offerings. Bethany will join with already-established programs of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) in adding track and field as a varsity sport beginning with the 2012-13 season.
As a member of the UMAC, Bethany’s track teams will compete with Martin Luther College, University of Minnesota – Morris, Northwestern College, Presentation College, and the College of St. Scholastica for conference titles as well as with other established programs throughout the Midwest.
David Ring has been hired as the new head men’s and women’s cross country coach and track and field coach. Ring has a wealth of experience. Most recently, he served for the past ten years as the head cross country coach at Manitowoc Lutheran High School in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There he had individuals compete in the state cross country meet in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, and 2011. Three of Ring’s cross country teams have run in the Wisconsin State Meet including both men’s and women’s in 2003 and men’s in 2011. His men’s team placed fourth in Division III category this year.
Ring also served as the head men’s track and field coach and assistant women’s track and field coach for six years at Manitowoc Lutheran. He has coached individual runners at the Wisconsin State Track Meet in 2008 and 2010.
“The goal for the track team will be to build the numbers enough to compete at the conference level. Goals are important as well as the journey to achieve those goals. To compete for conference championships will always be a goal, and getting there will be exciting too,” said Ring.
“Dave’s background and experiences make him a great fit for Bethany, and a great fit for the cross country team,” Bethany athletic director Karl Fager said. “He understands and looks forward to the challenges of elevating and building both cross country and track to a high level here. I am excited to have someone of David’s caliber and experience joining the college and the athletic department.”
Ring is not only a teacher of the sport, but also a competitor having completed fourteen marathons himself including the Boston Marathon in 2007. Ring will begin his work at Bethany on July 1, 2012. Ring is familiar with the Mankato area and South Central Minnesota, as he has earned degrees from local institutions. He earned a bachelor of science from Martin Luther College and a master of science from Minnesota State University, Mankato.