Garrick Z. Larson

Head Coach, Men's Track and Field Athletics

Garrick Larson has led the Cobber Men’s Track & Field team since 1993 and previously served as the Concordia’s Men's Cross Country head coach from 1997-2018. During his tenure as the men’s head coach, Larson has coached 14 men’s NCAA Division III Track & Field All-Americans (10 outdoor, 4 indoor); 37 men’s NCAA Division III Track & Field National Qualifiers (23 outdoor, 14 indoor), and 4 men’s NCAA Division III Cross Country National Qualifiers. Larson also serves as an Assistant Women’s Track & Field coach where he has directly coached women to 23 NCAA Division III Track & Field All-American awards (16 outdoor, 7 indoor), and a total of 48 women’s NCAA Division III National Qualifiers (37 outdoor, 11 indoor).

Larson was named the MIAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1999 and the MIAC Men’s Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2020. Larson’s men’s Track & Field team has crowned 31 MIAC Indoor and 24 MIAC Outdoor Individual Champions.

Larson has a diverse background within track and field. With the exception of the 3000 Meter Steeplechase and the Hammer, Garrick has competed in every event in track and field. As a student-athlete at St. Olaf College, he focused on the Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump, Javelin, and Decathlon earning 20 All-Conference Honors, 3 Conference Titles, and 2 trips to the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships. During his senior season, Larson was ranked in the top 50 on the NCAA Division III national list in five events – the Decathlon, Javelin, Triple Jump, High Jump, and Long Jump. Larson held the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Record in the Javelin from 1991-2000.

Larson showed his breadth of athletic ability by competing in marathons beginning in 1997.  In 2009 and 2010, he reached qualifying times for the Boston Marathon.  Larson’s best of 3:03 in the Twin Cities Marathon placed him in the top 5% of all runners.  Larson has also made one attempt in a 50-mile ultra-marathon.

After completing a Biology degree at St. Olaf College in 1991, Garrick went on to graduate school at the University of Minnesota (1991-1993), specializing in Exercise Science (Kinesiology). In 2015, Garrick earned a Master of Education in science from North Dakota State University. He has been a Licensed Certified Athletic Trainer, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and is currently a Certified Level I and Level II USA Track and Field Coach and Certified Level 1 USA Weightlifting Coach.

In addition to his coaching duties, Larson taught as an Instructor in the Department of Physical Education, Health, and Exercise Science from 1993-2018.

Garrick lives in Moorhead with his wife Mary, who is a Ph.D. teaching in the Master of Public Health program at North Dakota State University. Mary has been a long-time Nutritionist and Public Health worker in the Fargo-Moorhead and Twin Cities areas. They have two grown children, Mathias and Greta.

Contact

Garrick Z. Larson

Head Coach, Men's Track and Field Memorial Auditorium – 204