With the 2015 season, Loren Ahonen begins his third season as the head coach of the Minnesota State men’s cross country team. He also serves as an assistant coach to the men's track and field team coaching middle distance and distance athletes on the track.
In 2014, the Mavericks improved substantially from the 2013 cross country campaign. Earning their first USTFCCCA Regional Ranking under Ahonen’s tutelage, the Mavericks wrapped up their season by gathering a fourth place finish at the NSIC Championship, only six points out of third, and an eighth place finish at the NCAA Central Region Championship. Individually Josiah Swanson earned his second All-Region cross country honor by securing 19th place with a time of 32:20 over the hilly 10k course in Wayne, Neb.
On the track, the Maverick distance men have also excelled. During his first two seasons at Minnesota State, Ahonen has coached one individual NSIC Champion (Matt Stocker 2014 Indoor 1000m), one runner-up (Victor Bowen 2015 Outdoor 800m), and four third place finishes (Zach Gearman 2014 Indoor 600, Matt Stocker 2015 Outdoor 800m, and Austin O’Brien 2015 Indoor Mile/Outdoor 1500m). Along with other distance scorers, these finishes produced valuable points in the Mavericks' consecutive sweeps of the NSIC Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 2014 and 2015.
On the national level, the Mavs have recorded two NCAA DII Provisional Qualifying marks in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) in both 2014 and 2015. Individually, Alex Schoneberger (Indoor 800) and Austin O’Brien (Indoor 3000m, Outdoor 5000m) have recorded Provisional Qualifying times for the NCAA DII Championships.
Academically, four Maverick distance runners (Jacob Ball, Josiah Swanson, Alex Schoneberger, and Austin O’Brien) have earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors. The 2014 Maverick men’s cross country team were also a USTFCCCA NCAA DII All-Academic Team on account of their cumulative team GPA.
A native of Temperance, Mich., Ahonen was named the Minnesota State men's cross country head coach in the summer of 2013 after serving as an assistant coach on the Western State cross country/track and field coaching staff the previous two seasons. As an assistant coach at Western State, Ahonen worked with the distance runners and helped develop team and individual training schedules. He also served as an active recruiter and assisted with travel plans.
While coaching at Western State, Ahonen aided the development of 42 All-Americans, five national champions, seven national runners up, one Olympic trials qualifier, a men's cross country national championship and a women's cross country national runner up.
As a student-athlete at Western State, Ahonen amassed seven All-American honors including two in cross country in the 10k event and five in track and field including three in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and two in the distance medley relay. He served as a team captain for the cross country team for three seasons and the track and field team for two seasons. He was also a member of two cross country teams that finished in second place at the NCAA DII Cross Country Meet.
Ahonen graduated Summa Cum Laude from Western State in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in Environmental Studies/Politics and Government. He was the first student-athlete in Western State history to earn a pair of Capital One Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA when he accomplished the feat in 2010 and 2011. He was also a seven-time NCAA Division II All-Academic pick. Ahonen also served as an academic peer advisor where he helped schedule tutoring sessions and offer academic guidance.
