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There is perhaps no single coach in the UnitedStates with a greater impact on young Americandistance runners than Vin Lananna. His legacystretches from coast to coast, with both male andfemale athletes, from the conference level to the international arena. For the past nine seasons, Lanannahas crafted a cross country empire at StanfordUniversity, one that fields a national championshipcontender every season.
The tradition of cross country excellence beganmany years ago for the Cardinal, headed by the likesof Marshall Clark, Dink Templeton, Franklin Johnson, JackWeiershauer, Payton Jordan and Brooks Johnson.And since Lananna's arrival on The Farm in 1992, theStanford program has taken another step towardsdominance. Consider for a moment the progressionof success over the last nine seasons. In 1992, heguilded Cardinal senior Gary Stolz to a runnerup finishat the NCAA meet, while senior Louise Watsonwas named Pac-10 Athlete of the Year. The followingseason, the Stanford women's team won the Pac-10conference crown for the first time in eight years. In1994, just three years into Lananna's tenure atStanford, the Cardinal made a big splash in thenational team races. Both the men's and women'ssquads managed to squeeze into the top ten at theNCAA Meet, finishing sixth and seventh respectively.Two years later, the Cardinal made NCAA history inwinning both the men and women's NCAA titles, thefirst time that had been accomplished since 1985.
Stanford and Vin Lananna are synonymous withexcellence in collegiate cross country. After winningboth NCAA titles in 1996, the men's team repeatedthe feat in 1997, while the women's team finished second.Three years ago, the Cardinal again stood highon the podium with a runnerup finish for the menand a third place trophy for the women. In fact, since1996 no Stanford men's or women's cross countryteam has finished lower than fourth place at theNCAA Championships. In addition, Stanford'swomen's team has won five straight conferencechampionships (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000). TheCardinal men's team has won the Pac-10 title four ofthe last five years (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000). Both ofLananna's teams are to a point where success at thehighest level is expected every season. Still, the desireto build on this very successful program is what drivesthe Stanford head coach from day to day.
Stanford's success in cross country is equaled onlyby its success on the track. Since Lananna's arrival,the Cardinal has moved up among the nation's elite.In 2000, Stanford's men's team rose to the top of thepodium with a dramatic victory at the NCAAOutdoor Track & Field Championships, defeatingeight-time national champion Arkansas. Last year, theCardinal added another trophy with a fourth placefinish. In addition, the 2001 Stanford women's trackand field team finished eighth at NCAA's for its highestplacing since finishing fourth in 1992. Prior tothe 2000 NCAA title winning effort, the men's team boasted four NCAA runnerup finishes in indoor andoutdoor track from 1998 to 1999, while the womencracked the top ten nationally in 1997 and 2001. Eachsquad is well rounded and capable of scoring pointson the NCAA level in all events.
The success on the Pac-10 level has also been dramatic.In 2001, Stanford's men's team captured itsfirst conference championship in 75 years with 142points, the third straight year that the team tallied100 or more points. The Cardinal men finished astrong second at the 2000 Pac-10 Championships. In2001, the Cardinal women finished third for a secondstraight season with 120.5 points. The women havescored more than 100 points the past three seasons.
In addition to his duties as Director of Track &Field/Cross Country at Stanford, Lananna is a seasonednational and international coach. In crosscountry, he served as the United States Head Coachfor the World Championships in 1990 and 1996.Lananna also led the East team to a track & field titleat the 1990 U.S. Olympic Festival, and was an assistantcoach for Team USA at the 1999 World Track &Field Championships. Recently, Lananna has playedan integral role in the development of the Nike FarmTeam, a post collegiate middle distance and distancerunning club based at Stanford. Eleven members ofthe Farm Team competed at the USATF NationalChampionships in 2001.
Prior to his arrival at Stanford, Lananna directedthe men's and women's cross country/track and fieldprograms at Dartmouth. In 12 seasons with the BigGreen, Lananna's team appeared at the NCAA CrossCountry Championships every year - including twostraight runnerup finishes for the men's team in 1986and 1987.
Lananna began his coaching career at C.W. PostCollege in Long Island, New York, after graduatingfrom the school in 1975. As a student at Post,Lananna obtained a bachelor's degree in history andpsychology, and a masters degree in education. Hewas captain of the cross country team.
Lananna and his wifeElizabeth have two sons, Brian and Scott. TheLananna's reside at Stanford.