Mike Dager took over the Gwynedd-Mercy College track and field program in the summer of 2007 and the cross country program in the fall of 2009. Dager works primarily with the endurance events and oversees the training of all cross country athletes and runners competing in track events ranging from 800 to 10,000 meters.
Beginning September 1, 2013 Coach Dager will serve a four-year term as a member of the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championship Committee, representing the Mideast Region. The committee oversees the operations of all NCAA Division III Championships for Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field and Outdoor Track & Field.
Dager took the reigns of the cross country team after the departure of long-time coach Mike Werner, who helped build a well respected program during his tenure. It was Werner’s men that won the first of five consecutive conference championships for the Griffins (2008 – 2012). During Dager’s first season the women (second in 2008) captured their first ever conference title as the Griffins defeated heavily favored Marywood University by the slimmest of margins.
Dager has coached nine women and thirteen men to a combined 42 all-conference finishes in the past four seasons. A Gwynedd-Mercy athlete has crossed the finish line first in six of the last eight CSAC Conference Championships (M&W combined). RJ Every ’10 (2009), John Watts ’11 (2010), Matt VanDenHengel ’12 (2011), and Brett Kubiak ’14 (2012) took home the last four titles for the men. Alycia Tranchitella ’10 (2009) and Katherine Klinges ’12 (2011) took home two of the last four individual titles for the women. Tranchitella also captured the title in 2007.
Beyond the conference level, the Griffins have claimed a total of eight All-Region honors (top 35) with Brett Kubiak, Tranchitella and Klinges capturing two each. Tranchitella, under the guidance of Coach Werner, became the first female to earn all-regional status in 2007 with her 20th place finish. Watts captured the first all-region honor for the men in 2010, by finishing 35th. The Kubiak twins (Brett and Joe) earned the honor in 2011 with their 17th and 25th places respectively. In 2012 Brett finished third at the regional championship to become the first NCAA Qualifier in program history. He went on to finish 33rd at the 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship, becoming the first cross country All-American at Gwynedd-Mercy.
The cross country teams also excel in the classroom. Currently the women’s team has a 3.49 GPA while the men have a 3.15 cumulative average. Tranchitella, Dan Geary ’10, Watts, Klinges, and VanDenHengel were each named the college Scholar-Athlete of the Year during their senior years. Tranchitella, Every, Klinges and VanDenHengel have also been named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Cross Country All-Academic Team (all NCAA divisions) and during her senior year Tranchitella was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the year. Tranchitella and Klinges were also named to the Academic All-America team by virtue of their All-Regional finish and cumulative GPA above a 3.30. Finally, in 2012 the college named Matt VanDenHengel the Presidential Scholar, presented to the person with the highest academic achievement coupled with a commitment to values and mission of the college.
Prior to arriving in the Gwynedd Valley, Dager spent nine years at Elizabethtown College. During that time he served as the assistant cross country coach for both men and women (1998-2001) and the head women’s cross country / assistant women’s track and field coach from 2002-2007. During Dager’s tenure at Etown the women’s cross country program captured the first Middle Atlantic Conference Championship in program history (2004) and Melissa St. Clair ’05 became the first female All-American. During the 2004-2005 track and field season, Elizabethtown College female distance runners qualified for Nationals in the Distance Medley Relay, the 800 meter run, the 1500 meter run, the 5,000 meter run and the 10,000 meter run. St. Clair graduated a five-time All-American which included a runner-up finish in the 10,000 meter run at the 2004 Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In 2004 the women’s cross country team had the sixth highest GPA in the country with a 3.64 cumulative grade point average and finished 19th at the NCAA Championships.
Dager lives in nearby Fort Washington, Pa. with his wife Pam who is a French Teacher in the Upper Dublin School District.
