Nov. 8, 2006
Chicago, Ill. - Rick Wemple, who has served as the head cross country coach at nearby Lewis University for the past two seasons, has been appointed head cross country/track and field coach at Loyola University Chicago, director of athletics John Planek announced today. Wemple, an accomplished coach, replaces Marc Burns who resigned earlier this season.
"The Loyola University Chicago cross country and track programs have had a reputation of excellence on and off the track," Planek said. "With a tradition that has included Olympic competitors and a number of All-Americans, it was very important that we hired an individual that continued the success. Rick Wemple has the skills, background and knowledge to do this. As an outstanding runner at Yale and with coaching experiences that included a stint at Brown, it was evident that Coach Wemple had a firm grasp on the meaning of the term student-athlete. He will be a great addition to our coaching staff."
In his short stay at Lewis, Wemple`s influence helped Andy Tremble to back-to-back Great Lakes Valley Conference individual championships in addition to All-America honors in 2005. Three of his track student-athletes garnered All-America accolades as well.
Prior to coming to the
"I am really excited to take over the track and field and cross country program at Loyola, " Wemple said. "Over the past year, I have fallen in love with the city of
A 1992 graduate of
Loyola's men's team tied for second, while the women's squad claimed sole possession of second place at the 2006 Horizon League Championships in October.
Story provided by Loyola Sports Information