Lyon to restart cross country, names head coach
BATESVILLE — Lyon College Director of Athletics Kevin Jenkins has announced that Adam Trausch has been named the head men’s and women’s cross-country coach of the Scots program, which will restart this upcoming fall. The cross-country programs return to Lyon after a seven-year hiatus.
Trausch comes to
Lyon after serving as an assistant cross country/ track coach at Defiance
College in Defiance, Ohio, since January 2016.
A 2011 graduate of Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trausch received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in health services administration. While at Davenport, Trausch was a four-time Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference All-Conference performer, and a four-time Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
Trausch said the program at Davenport was fairly new when he was a student-athlete there, and he looks forward to the challenge of building the program at Lyon.
“I want to create a fun experience where kids can come in and get better every day,” Trausch said. “At Davenport, they had a growth of over 100 athletes, and to see that growth as an alum, I try to apply it to what we can do here at Lyon.”
Trausch also has coaching experience as an assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wisconsin Lutheran College. While at Wisconsin-Oshkosh, he recruited for all the men and women’s events from Wisconsin and the Midwest Region. He also worked with distance runners in training, meet preparation and summer training, while hosting the WIAC Outdoor Championships, the AAE Invitational, the NCAA Midwest Regional and the 2015 Cross Country National Championship.
At Wisconsin Lutheran, he coordinated recruiting efforts and the promotion of a team fundraiser to increase participation and profit at the Warrior 5K.
In addition to his assistantcoaching positions, Trausch has served as a counselor for the Milwaukee Area Distance Running Club in 2013 and was a camp counselor for the Green Lake Cross Country Camp from 2012-16.
Trausch said he hopes to instill the right mentality for the program and compete for a conference championship.
“I want the runners to work hard every day and be consistent with running,” Trausch said. “I hope we can contend for some conference championships and be a contender at the conference and national level.
“The ability to bring the sport back and running is pretty important to the campus, and they want us to do well. They miss cross country, and it’s on me to make it a part of Lyon College and bring it back.”
Trausch said he has been a part of restarting programs before and said it presents a great opportunity.
“Both coaches where I was at previously started their own program,” Trausch said. “Being part of a new program is exciting. There are great academics here at Lyon, and it’s a great atmosphere for running.”
Jenkins said he’s excited about what Trausch brings to the program.
“We are excited that women’s and men’s cross country are returning to Lyon under the leadership of Adam [Trausch],” Jenkins said. “I think with his background in the sport, he is a great fit for our program. He not only has tremendous knowledge of the sport, but I believe he has a great understanding of the kind of student-athlete we’re trying to attract here.”