Coach

Steve Johnson - Steve is in his 20th season at the helm of the Knights cross country teams, the longest tenure on the Wartburg College athletic coaching staff. Johnson, 51, is also an assistant track and field coach after leading the Knights track program for eight seasons. The Minneapolis, Minnesota native came to Wartburg after coaching both men's and women's teams for 7 years at all collegiate levels including NCAA Division I ­ Oregon State University, Division II ­ St. Cloud State University and NAIA ­ Iowa Wesleyan.

A 24-time Iowa Conference Coach Of The Year honoree, including sweeping the 2005 men's and women's COY honors, Johnson has helped lead the Knights cross country program from the middle of the pack to becoming a dominant force in Iowa collegiate cross country. Since 1991, Wartburg has won 20 Iowa Conference team titles, about twice the number of any other conference school. Wartburg has also sent more teams to the national championships than any other Iowa college or university during that time span.

In 1991, Wartburg became the first conference school to win both men's and women's team titles in the same year. Wartburg went on to duplicate that feat again in 1994, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2005. The 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2005 championships saw both men's and women's varsity and junior varsity titles go to the Knights in the same year, '98 being the first time in conference history.

In 2000, Wartburg again set a conference first as both men's and women's teams qualified for the national championships in the same year. The men's program enters 2008 with a streak of 10 consecutive national meet team berths. The high water mark in that string was a fifth place finish in 2003.

Johnson has produced more cross country and track distance event National Champions, All-Americans and national qualifiers and has had more top 10 national meet team finishes since 1991 than any other college or university in Iowa. The Wartburg cross country/track program has also seen more individual distance event conference champions and all-conference performers. Wartburg was the first program in the conference to win a Central Region cross country title and has won eight team titles through the 2005 campaign.

During his career, Johnson has coached 23 teams to national cross country championships with a high finish of second with the 1983 St. Cloud Statemen's team and three third-place marks from the Wartburg College women's teams of 1991, 1992, and 2002. On the individual side, Johnson has coached numerous All-Americans and national qualifiers in track and cross country including six different national champions in Wartburg's Missy Buttry (16 CC & TF individual and relay national championships), Josh Moen (five individual CC & TF national championships), Trina Steines (1998 - 800m), and St. Cloud State's Kurt Threinen (1983 - 10,000m) and the 2003 and 2005 Indoor Distance Medley Relay champs.

Missy Buttry and Josh Moen completed their unprecedented careers in 2005 winning two individual national championships at the NCAA III National Track and Field Championships hosted by Wartburg.  Both Iowa natives saw huge personal improvements through there time at Wartburg and have competed successfully against the very best runners in the US at the elite level.  Both Josh and Missy have signed contracts with shoe companies and are running professionally.

The basis of Wartburg College cross country is to be "highly competitive and very fun" according to Johnson. "We have had some great people in this program - fun loving people with excellent character and attitudes," he said. "Our athletes have been able to have fun and work hard while constantly producing a high team GPA.

"I think the most important thing I am proud of is the camaraderie in the program," he added. "The athletes in cross country are very close-knit in school and after graduation. They are best friends and make lifelong connections.  We actually call our team a ‘Family' because that's the importance we place on our relationships.”

“Our program is known for producing huge improvements in our runners.  It is really exciting to see the athletes that have gone from average or good high school runners to become college All-Americans and National Champions. The team championships are always a goal but overall, seeing these student-athletes get an outstanding degree, produce great friendships and make huge improvements is something I really cherish."

Along those lines, both men's and women's teams have averaged over 3.4 for team GPA's over the past decade and have been recognized as All-Academic teams almost every year since 1991.

Johnson is a level II certified track and field coach and has conducted and spoken at many camps and clinics. He has two Master's degrees, one in exercise philosophy from St. Cloud State and the other in biology from South Dakota State. He holds assistant professor rank at Wartburg and teaches exercise physiology, sports nutrition and several other exercise science courses.

A six-time Central Region Coach of the Year in cross country (2005, 2003, 2002, 2001 and 1993) and track (1994), Johnson also produced a solid athletic career, being selected to the St. Cloud State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. He is a four-time national qualifier and NCAA Division II All-American in the 1500 meters for St. Cloud State in 1976. He set school records in the 1500 and the 4x1-mile relay and was ranked second on the SCSU all-time list in the 800 and the mile. He still runs competitively as a master's runner in road and track races.

Tyson Keith, Assistant coach
Keith returned to Wartburg to join the staff in 2006 after coaching with the Knights as an assistant coach for one cross country season in the fall of 2003. He graduated from Wartburg in the spring of 2003. Over the past three years, Keith has taught biology and coached boys and girls in both track and cross country at Waverly-Shell Rock High School and at Ogden High School. His Ogden boy's cross country team placed third in the 2005 high school state championships.

While competing at Wartburg, Keith won All-American honors in cross country in 2002 and placed 13th in the nation in the 10,000 meter run at the 2002 national track and field championships. He is a five-time NCAA III national championship qualifier in track and cross country and two-time Iowa Conference champion in track (5,000 and 10,000 meters in 2002). He is a four-time all-region honoree in cross country and seven-time all-conference selection in both track and cross country. He continues to train and race competitively in road races.

He and his wife, Mandy (Fox '04), reside in Waverly, where Keith teaches physical science and biology at Waverly-Shell Rock High School.