Bethany Lutheran College Athletics

Michael Dunn begins his 10th year coaching the Bethany cross country and track and field teams in 2024-25.

After a fall that saw the Bethany women place fourth and the men sixth at the UMAC cross country championships, the Vikings saw very successful showings in the winter and spring during track season. On the men's side, Aaron Stewart shattered both the 60 and 200 school records during indoor before doing the same in the 100 and 200 outdoor. Anna Schwartz and Cassidy Gibson each set new school bests in the pole vault and high jump, respectively, while Stephanie Witbrod worked her way to nationals in the spring in the triple jump, finishing in 19th place. 

In the fall of 2022, the Bethany Lutheran women's cross country team completed their best UMAC finish in program history, taking second place at the UMAC Championships. At the UMAC Indoor T & F Championships, the Bethany Lutheran women finished in second place for the second consecutive year with 143 points, while the men finished in fourth place. At UMAC Outdoor, the women claimed a third place finish while the men finished sixth. Jake Marzinske and Stephanie Witbrod both qualified for the NCAA Championships in the triple jump during the Indoor and Outdoor season in 2023, with Witbrod also competing in the shot put at NCAA Indoor. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Jake Marzinske became the first All-American in program history after a sixth place finish in the triple jump. 

In 2021-22, Dunn helped lead the Vikings to their best finishes in cross country and track during his tenure with the Vikings. In the fall, the men finished fifth at the cross country championships while the women finished third with the third place finish for the women matching a previous program best with Kayla Tobin becoming the first woman in program history to become a UMAC Individual Champion. The women didn't stop there though as they went on to finish second at both the UMAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships which were both new bests for the program. The men also had a solid year with a third place finish at Indoor and fourth place finish at Outdoor. Jake Marzinske also qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and took 11th place.  For the fall cross country season in 2022, the men's team finished 4th while the women topped their program best from last year with a second place finish.

In 2016, Dunn led the Bethany women's cross country team to its best team finish in program history (third out of nine teams with 81 points). The men’s cross country team showed significant improvement in 2017, finishing in fifth place with 153 points compared to a seventh place finish with 200 points in 2016. In five years, the Vikings have turned in 11 UMAC All-Conference performances at the championship meet which includes three First-team performances and eight Second-team. Additionally, 46 cross country athletes have earned Academic All-Conference under Coach Dunn.
 
During the 2022-23 track season, the Vikings saw a few of their greatest individual performances in program history. Jake Marzinske and Stephanie Witbrod both qualified for the national championships in the triple jump during both seasons, with Witbrod also competing in the shot put during the indoor season. Marzinske then went on to become the program's first All-American during the NCAA Outdoor Championships after taking sixth place. 

The 2020 indoor men's squads recorded the best finish in program history at the conference championship with its third-place finish. The Vikings earned the UMAC Rookie of the Year award in 2019 (Keegan Rich) and 2020 (Jake Marzinske). Marzinske was named the UMAC Rookie of the Year at both championships in 2021 (indoor and outdoor). He also earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the triple jump for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2021.

The 2017 women's indoor team had the best finish in program history (third). The women finished the 2017 outdoor season with a best finish in program history as it took second and Dunn was named UMAC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year by his peers.

Born in Le Sueur, Minn., and raised in the Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D. area, Dunn attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. where he competed in both cross country and track and field. He graduated in May 2011 with a B.A. in Communication Studies and a coaching minor. While at Concordia, Dunn assisted with recruiting for both cross country and track and field.
 
Dunn's experience after Concordia started in Nanchang, China, as the head track and field coach and teacher at Nanchang Institute of Technology University, and led the team to a fifth place finish at the provincial championship. Following China, he had coaching stints at Shanley High School and Oak Grove Lutheran High School, both in Fargo, ND helping coach athletes to the state championship. From 2013-2015, Dunn was an assistant coach for both cross country and track and field at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., where he earned his M.A. in Sports Administration. While coaching at Gonzaga, Michael worked with both men's and women's programs and helped coach multiple mid-distance and distance athletes to the NCAA DI Regional and the first Gonzaga student-athlete to the NCAA DI National Championship. 

He has a USATF Level 2 Licensure.
 
Michael currently resides in Mankato with his wife Nicole and daughters Sloan, Cora, and Adaline.

Under Dunn
Cross Country All-Conference: 17 Women; 2 Men
Cross Country All-Region: 1 Woman
Indoor Track & Field Conference Champions: 13 Women; 15 Men
Indoor Track & Field Conference Rookie of the Year: 2 Men
Indoor Track & Field All-Region: 1 Man
Outdoor Track & Field Conference Champions: 9 Women; 9 Men
Outdoor Track & Field Conference Rookie of the Year: 1 Woman; 2 Men
Outdoor Track & Field All-Region: 1 Man

Cross Country

Season	UMAC Finishes
2015	4th (W); 6th (M)
2016	3rd (W); 7th (M)
2017	5th (W); 5th (M)
2018	6th (W); 5th (M)
2019	6th (W); 5th (M)
2020	No season due to COVID-19
2021	3rd (W); 5th (M)
2022	2nd (W); 4th (M)
2023	4th (W); 5th (M)

Track & Field

Season	UMAC Finishes (Indoor)	UMAC Finishes (Outdoor)
2016	4th (W); 4th (M)	4th (W); 5th (M)
2017	3rd (W); 4th (M)	2nd (W); 4th (M)
2018	4th (W); 4th (M)	4th (W); 6th (M)
2019	5th (W); 5th (M)	4th (W); 6th (M)
2020	4th (W); 3rd (M)	N/A
2021	5th (W); 5th (M)	6th (W); 6th (M)
2022	2nd (W); 3rd (M)	2nd (W); 4th (M)
2023	2nd (W); 4th (M)	3rd (W); 6th (M)