Dale Thompson

Head coach

“When it is all said and done...athletics is fundamentally about the development of your character. The Cross Country team theme verse is from Romans 5 about perseverance--character--hope. What an athlete takes from cross country should be of intrinsic worth that will benefit them for life. No sport teaches life principles better than cross country. ” comments Head Coach Dale Thompson.

Coach Thompson began his coaching tenure at Northwestern College in 1981 and currently serves as Head Coach of Cross Country and assistant coach for the track and field squad. Over the course of his career, Thompson has guided eight teams to the District 15 Championship and 76 runners to the NAIA National meet. Last season, he led the Red Raider women’s team to their first ever national ranking (24^th) and their first national championship berth since 1992. At the national meet, Thompson helped lead two Red Raiders to All-American honors and a 10^th place team finish, their best ever in the program’s history. Thompson earned 2007 GPAC Coach of the Year honors and has earned the regional honor as well during his tenure.

Coach Thompson believes in four core concepts that highlight cross country at Northwestern. He wants student-athletes to honor God, Northwestern College and the team; to learn that preparation precedes performance; to learn to become a runner and to understand that the pack demands each athlete’s best.

A state high school cross country champion in New Jersey, Thompson earned All-American honors at Wheaton College. Aside from his coaching responsibilities on the cross country and track teams at Northwestern, Thompson serves as the director of the Rowenhorst Student Center and the director of the intramural program. Thompson and his wife, Judy, have three children: Kristin, Amy and Scott.