(Note: This story includes information for stories recently published in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press.)
Team USA Minnesota webpage -- Click here!

MINNEAPOLIS (6/1/01) -- Augsburg College men's and women's track and field and cross country coach Dennis Barker was recently named as a coach for a unique distance running training program to develop Olympic-caliber athletes.

Barker will be coaching the women's program for Team USA Minnesota, a distance-running program to be based through the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College. The program is one of four distance-training efforts across the nation established by USA Track & Field, the governing body for the sport in this country and Running USA, a national trade association for road races and industry representatives. Other training sites are in Rochester Hills, Mich.; Rochester, N.Y.; and San Diego/Mammoth, Calif.

The Team USA Minnesota men's program will be coached by Steve Plasencia, men's distance running coach at the University of Minnesota. Minnesota assistant men's cross country coach Ditlev Larsen and former Gustavus Adolphus College track and cross country coach Charlie Mahler will assist Barker and Plasencia.

Nine athletes -- four women and five men -- will initially be a part of the Team USA Minnesota program. One of the most recognizable names on the roster is Carrie Tollefson of Dawson, Minn., considered one of the top distance runners to ever come out of Minnesota. She won 13 state high school cross country and track titles at Dawson-Boyd High School, and later earned five national titles and 12 All-America honors as a track and cross country athlete at Villanova University.

Other women's runners include marathoner and thre-time Minnestoa prep titlist Kim Kauls of Forest Lake, Minn.; three-time NCAA track champion and nine-time All-American (University of Michigan) Katie McGregor of Willoughby, Ohio; and All-American (Villanova) Kristen Nicolini of Annapolis, Md. Runners on the men's roster are: marathoner and cross country All-American (Minnesota State-Mankato) Kurt Keiser of Coon Rapids, Minn.; five-time All-American (Moorhead State) and marathoner Kelly Mortenson of Canby, Minn.; two-time cross country national team titlist (Stanford) member Chris Lundstrom of Northfield, Minn.; two-time All-American (Drake) Jason Lehmkuhle of St. Charles, Mo.; and 12-time All-Missouri Valley Conference runner (Drake) Matt Gabrielson of Belmond, Iowa.

Barker said the program will utilize facilities at both Augsburg and Minnesota. The program's budget, between $90,000 and $100,000 initially, will cover athlete expenses and stipends, along with health insurance, fitness club memberships (Life Time Fitness) and training staff access. Sponsors are being sought to cover some of the funding, and the roster may grow to as many as 15 athletes with funding increases. Some sponsors include the Minnesota Distance Running Association, USATF Minnesota and the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission.

Barker has been the men's and women's cross country coach at Augsburg since 1994 and men's and women's track and field coach since 1995. Barker's teams have qualified 19 entrants to NCAA Division III championships in the two sports, with seven earning All-America honors. Eleven athletes have earned MIAC individual titles under Barker's track and field leadership. Prior to coming to Augsburg, he was an assistant track and field/cross country coach at Golden Valley (Minn.) Lutheran College and Iowa State University. He is a certified USA Track and Field Level II coach, and has authored training articles in the United States Track Coaches Association Review, Cross Country Journal, and Minnesota Running and Track magazines.