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Kirk Pedersen

Head Coach

Kirk Pedersen is in his 23rd season as head coach of the Mules and Jennies cross country teams, and his 13th season as co-head coach of the Mules and Jennies track and field program.He served as an assistant under former head coach Les Stevens for 10 years, and now shares the head coach's position for track & field with Kip Janvrin.

Pedersen has guided the Jennies' cross country squad to MIAA Championships in two out of the last five seasons, while the Mules' have captured eight MIAA championships in the past 18 years. Pedersen was named the MIAA Coach of the Year for both the Men and Women in 2005.

The Mules failed to qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships in both 2007 and 2008 after they produced their 11th straight top 25 finish at the event in 2006, placing 14th, after a third place finish in the South Central Regional. The Jennies also missed out on the NCAA Division II Championships in 2008, marking the third consecutive year that they had come up short in qualifying. The Jennies had claimed the South Central Regional championship for a second consecutive season in 2005 and then placing 14th at the NCAA Division II Championships, the Jennies finished third at the South Central Regional in 2006, but failed to qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships. The Jennies best finish at the national meet came in 2004 after a 10th place showing.

From 2000-2002, both the Mules and Jennies qualified for the national championships.In 2000, the Mules finished 13th and the Jennies were 14th.For the Jennies' team championship performance in the 2000 and 2004 South Central Regional, Pedersen was named South Central Region women's coach of the year.Pedersen's 1995 and 1997 men's teams earned runner-up finishes at the Division II Championships.In 1996, the Mules placed sixth at the NCAA Championships and produced the individual national champion in Alexandr Alexin.The 1995 men's team became the first cross country team to be inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame, and this past year, the 1993 team joined them.

In 1999, both cross country teams won MIAA titles, with the Mules finishing seventh overall at the Division II Championships.

The coaching tandem of Pedersen and Janvrin has produced 12 MIAA men's indoor championships (1996-2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 & 2009), four MIAA women's indoor titles (1999, 2005, 2006 & 2007), nine MIAA men's outdoor titles (1998, 2001-2004, 2006-2009), and three consecutive women's outdoor conference title (2005-2007). Pedersen and Janvrin have also helped produce at least one individual national champion in 10 of their 12 previous years, including four during the 2009 school year (Indoor: Drew Frizzell - Men's Weight Throw, Anne Carlson - Women's Pentathlon, and Jenna Schmidt - Women's High Jump) (Outdoor: Drew Frizzell - Men's Hammer Throw). Nine times they have been MIAA Indoor Coaches of the Year (seven times for the men and twice for the women), and eight times they have been named MIAA Outdoor Coaches of the Year (five times for the men and three for the women).In 2002, Pedersen and Janvrin were also named USTCA National Indoor Coaches of the Year.

A native of West Liberty, Iowa, Pedersen is a 1985 graduate of Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. While at Simpson, he was a five-time NCAA Division III All-American and was national champion in the 800 meter run indoors as a senior. In 1995 he was inducted into the Simpson Athletic Hall of Fame.

Pedersen is married to the former Jill Green and they are parents of 11-year-old twins, daughter Jodi and son J.D., and five-year-old daughter Amber.