May 9, 2005
Release courtesy of Dave Blanchard, Luther College sports information director

DECORAH, IOWA . . . Luther College President Richard L. Torgerson has announced that Steve Pasche has accepted the position as head coach of men's and women's cross country and assistant track and field coach working with the distance runners.

Pasche joins the Luther athletic department from Williams College (Mass.), where he has been the assistant cross country and assistant track and field coach for the past two years. During this time, he helped coach the women's cross country team to an NCAA Division III national title in 2004, while the men's team earned top-ten finishes both years.

Prior to his efforts at Williams College, Pasche earned an M.S. in exercise and physiology from the University of Iowa in 1999. While at Iowa, he was a graduate teaching assistant and worked as a volunteer assistant track and field coach for the Hawkeyes. In 2000, Pasche took the head men's cross country and an assistant track coach position at Macalester College (Minn.) and spent three years building their teams until his departure in 2002.

Pasche is a 1997 graduate of Saint John's University (Minn.), where he ran cross country and track, earning All-MIAC honors as a senior.

Pasche's assistant for the cross country programs, will be his fiancée, Yarrow Moench. Moench is a 2000 graduate of Macalester College, where she was a two-time All-American in cross country and four-time All-American in the 1500 meter run. She was also named the 1998 Cross Country Regional Athlete of the Year. The past two years, Moench has also been an assistant coach of cross country and track and field at Williams College. Moench and Pasche will be married this summer.

"I am very fortunate to be invited to join Luther College," said Pasche. "Yarrow and I will do our best to continue the strong work of coaches Betsy Emerson and Jeff Wettach in creating teams of fine distance runners. We also look forward to joining the vibrant Decorah community."

"We are excited about the successful experiences Steve brings to us," stated Jane Hildebrand, associate athletic director and chair of the search committee. "He moved the Macalester program from the bottom of the MIAC to a top level team and he is just coming off a national championship experience at Williams College. Steve has great knowledge in the physiology or running and applies it in his training philosophy. He also puts a heavy influence on the individual using a holistic approach when coaching the student-athlete. Steve's definition of success includes not only performance, but developing all areas of the student's life, socially, spiritually and academically."

Pasche will officially begin his duties in August.

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