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Wayne State University Athletics

Grant Lofdahl

Grant Lofdahl

UPDATED April 2, 2025
  • Is in his eighth season as Head Coach at WSU during the 2024-25 academic year
  • Led GLIAC Coaching Staff of the Year for Outdoor in 2022
  • Selected GLIAC Women's Cross County Coaching Staff of the Year in 2022
  • Women's track & field team honored as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team the last five years (excluding 2019-2020 due to COVID)
  • Women's track & field hurdler Karrington Seals was named Wayne State's female Student-Athlete of the Year (2017-18), was a 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee and a 2024 WSU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee
  • 165 Wayne State cross country runners (80 men and 85 women) received GLIAC All-Academic honors in his first eight years combined
  • 3000 Wayne State track and field members (162 indoor and 138 outdoor) received GLIAC All-Academic honors in his first eight years combined (eight indoor & seven outdoor seasons)
  • Mentored one GLIAC Athlete of the Meet (Makayla Sumrall in 2022)
  • Guided three GLIAC Freshmen Athletes of the Meet (Ashley Defrain for cross country in 2018, Reagan Justice for indoor track in 2022, and Makenzie Wellner for outdoor track in 2022) 

Grant Lofdahl began his his eighth season as head coach at Wayne State University in the fall of 2024.  Lofdahl was named the men’s and women’s cross country, and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field head coach at WSU in June of 2017.

Lofdahl mentored the WSU women's cross country squad to a runner-up finish at the 2024 GLIAC Championships, while senior Reagan Justice was an All-American after a 37th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

In the fall of 2023, Lofdahl guided the women's cross country squad to its second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships, along with men's cross country runner Ransom Allen becoming the first male in school history to be a three-time USTFCCCA All-American on the course.

The 2023 men's cross country program had a school-record 14 GLIAC All-Academic honorees, including eight on the Excellence Team for maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5.  Not to be out-done, the women's cross country squad also produced a school-record 18 GLIAC All-Academic recipients, including 12 on the Excellence Team which equaled the school mark.

In the fall of 2022, Lofdahl steered the women's cross country program to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, equaling the second best mark in program history.  In addition, Allen placed ninth individually, the highest finish ever, breaking a mark that had stood since 1974.  WSU's women's cross country staff was voted GLIAC Staff of the Year following the league meet.

His teams also excelled in the classroom.  A then school-record 16 ladies earned GLIAC All-Academic recognition, including a school-record 12 student-athletes garnering All-Academic Excellence Team accolades.  The men's squad had 10 runners receive GLIAC All-Academic recognition.  In addition, Allen and Antonio Chapa were named USTFCCCA All-Academic Athletes along with Thailyia Christensen, Mattie Drennan, Briana Vojoinov and Charlene Yarema from the women's squad.  Both teams also received USTFCCCA All-Academic Team recognition.

At the 2023 GLIAC Indoor Championships, Makayla Sumrall won the 60m dash while the 1,600m relay (4x400) quartet of Elyse Miller, Renae Kutcha, Avery Wilson, and Makenzie Wellner also took first place helping the Warriors to a school record 81 points.  

WSU produced four individual conference champions and one relay at the 2023 GLIAC Outdoor meet as Reagan Justice won the 10,000m race, Mikayla Williams took first in the triple jump, Sumrall was first in the 100m dash and Thaiyia Christensen won the steeplechase.  The quartet of Wellner, Miller, Wilson, and Kutcha won the 1,600m relay for the second time in 2023.

The previous fall in 2021, Lofdahl guided the men's cross country program to its first appearance at the NCAA Championships since 2008 with the Warriors placing 15th and two student-athletes (Ransom Allen and Zac Truman) earning All-America honors.

At the 2022 GLIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Lofdahl's squad posted the highest finish (third) in school history along with a program-best 75 points.  Rookie Reagan Justice was voted Female Freshman Track Athlete of the Meet.  In addition, Sumrall won the 60m dash, while Mikayla Williams was the triple jump conference champion.

The Warriors improved at the 2022 GLIAC Outdoor Championships finishing second with a school record 139.50 points, which earned Lofdahl and his staff GLIAC Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year.  Sprinter Makayla Sumrall was voted GLIAC Female Track Athlete of the Meet after winning two conference titles  -- the 100m dash and the 200m dash, while rookie Makenzie Wellner was named Female Freshman Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the 400m hurdles and anchoring the first-place 4x400m relay.  Senior Aliyah McDonald earned CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition, with Sumrall earning Second Team All-America accolades with a ninth-place finish in the 100m dash at the national championships.

Lofdahl steered the women's indoor track and field team to its then best GLIAC finish (4th) at the 2021 GLIAC Indoor Championships.  At the 2021 GLIAC Outdoor Championships, the women's squad totaled the third-most points (50) in program history to that point.  In addition, all four programs, men's cross country (13), women's cross country (11), women's indoor track and field (20), and women's outdoor track and field (21) each set school records for GLIAC All-Academic honorees in a single year.

During the 2019-20 academic year, Lofdahl guided the men's cross country squad to a fourth-place finish in the GLIAC and seventh place at the NCAA Midwest Regional.  Under his tutelage, the women's cross country team placed fourth at the GLIAC Championships, seventh at the NCAA Midwest Regional and 25th at the NCAA Division II national championships, the first appearance at nationals for the women's squad since 2014.  The men's team had a then school-record 11 GLIAC All-Academic honorees for the fall 2019 season.

Under Lofdahl's guidance during the 2018-19 season, three cross country/track and field runners were Deans' Award winners for having the highest cumulative GPA of all student-athletes in that college.  They were Alex Krasuski (Law School), Teresa Diehl (College of Education) and Jackie Feist (Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences).

In 2018, he mentored GLIAC Cross Country Female Freshman of the Year (Ashley Defrain), plus the women's squad had seven GLIAC All-Academic honorees, which was tied-for-second most dating back to 2002.  The Wayne State women placed fourth at the GLIAC Championships, the best WSU league finish in the past four seasons, and finished sixth at the NCAA Midwest Regionals.

Lofdahl led the 2018 men's cross country squad to a fourth-place finish at the GLIAC Championships, which was an improvement from the previous year's 10th-place finish.  The men's cross country team had five GLIAC All-Academic recipients, which was tied-for-second most in the last seven years.  The Warriors finished 10th at the NCAA Midwest Regionals.

Under his direction, a total of five cross country runners (three women and two men) received GLIAC All-Academic honors in 2017.

Lofdahl guided the 2017 WSU women's cross country squad to its then-best conference finish (6th/12) in the previous three seasons.  In addition, the women's indoor track and field team had its best league finish in program history in February of 2018 (until the 2020-21 squad placed fourth).
 
Lofdahl, a native of Holland, Mich., came to WSU after spending the previous two seasons as the Track and Field/Cross Country Head Coach at former GLIAC member Lake Erie College.  During the fall of 2016, both LEC cross country squads had program-best finishes at the GLIAC Championships with the men’s team earning a program-best finish at the NCAA Midwest Regionals as DJ Graham set the school record for 10k.  Storm runner Hailey Vanhoy eclipsed the women’s school record for 6k at the regional meet.
 
All four Lake Erie programs (men’s and women’s cross country, women’s indoor track and field, and women’s outdoor track and field) improved their GLIAC finish from Lofdahl’s first year in 2015-16 to their 2016-17 season.
 
While with the Storm, he mentored the 2017 GLIAC women’s indoor field athlete of the year in Danielle Corbin, who won the long jump.  At the GLIAC outdoor meet that year, Corbin won the long jump, while Nadia Lee was the women’s triple jump conference champion.  In addition, Hailey Nielsen was the Freshman Field Athlete of the Year.
 
LEC's Lee continued her successful campaign by earning First Team All-America honors in the triple jump.  She was later selected as the Lake Erie Female Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2016-17.
 
Academically in his final season at Lake Erie College (2016), the men’s cross country squad had six student-athletes named to the GLIAC All-Academic teams, while the women’s cross country team had five student-athletes on the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence squad.  Both cross country squads received USTFCCCA Scholar Teams of the Year honors for team GPAs of 3.39 and 3.38, respectively.  The LEC women’s track team had 11 student-athletes earn GLIAC All-Academic honors for both the indoor and outdoor seasons.  Additionally, his student-athletes set 29 school records during his tenure in Painesville.
 
Prior to his first head coaching job at LEC, Lofdahl spent two years (2013-14 and 2014-15) as the assistant coach at Lake Superior State University.  While at LSSU, he worked primarily with the 800-10,000 meter athletes and cross country teams, but also helped with the strength and conditioning program and recruiting.  Lofdahl was also very instrumental in fundraising, having organized a number of events to that end.
 
Prior to coaching in Sault Ste. Marie, Lofdahl served as the Head Cross Country Coach at Allendale High School for six seasons (2007-12).  He guided the girls’ cross country team to a MHSAA Division 3 runner-up finish in 2009.  Lofdahl also mentored four consecutive MHSAA State Cross Country Champions (Devan John – 2007-08-09, and Ali Wiersma – 2010).  In addition, he spent two years (2011 and 2012) as the head track coach, after serving as the assistant coach for distance for three years (2008-09-10).  He spent his final track season (2013) at Allendale as an assistant coach.
 
His first high school coaching position was at Wyoming Park High School, where he served as the Head Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track & Field Coach from 2002 to 2004.  At Wyoming Park, Lofdahl coached four All-State performers who earned a total of seven All-State honors.  Before entering the high school coaching ranks, he also served as a student assistant coach under Jerry Baltes at perennial powerhouse Grand Valley State University.
 
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from GVSU in 2004, while competing in both cross country and track & field from 1998-2001. In cross country, he competed in three GLIAC Championships and one regional championship.  In track, Lofdahl competed at 5,000m and represented the Lakers at 10,000m on three instances at the GLIAC Championships, helping the Lakers win their first GLIAC title in track & field.  He also spent five years as a sportswriter in the Grand Rapids area.
 
Cross Country
Men Women
Year GLIAC NCAA GLIAC NCAA
2017 10th Region-25th 6th Region-13th
2018 4th Region-10th 4th Region-6th
2019 4th Region-7th 4th Finals-25th // Region-7th
2020 Canceled Canceled Canceled Canceled
2021 3rd Finals-15th // Region-7th 3rd Region-10th
2022 4th Region-11th 2nd Finals-9th
2023 3rd Region-8th 2nd Finals-27th
2024 5th Region-16th 2nd Region-5th
 
Women's Track & Field
Indoor Outdoor
Year GLIAC NCAA GLIAC NCAA
2017-18 5th (69) NTS 4th (77.83) T-55th (3)
2018-19 6th (34) DNQ 5th (45) DNQ
2019-20 6th (34) DNQ COVID-19 COVID-19
2020-21 4th (53) DNQ 6th (50) DNQ
2021-22 3rd (75) NTS 2nd (139.50) NTS
2022-23 4th (81) DNQ 3rd (126) DNQ
2023-24 5th (62) DNQ 3rd (119.5) NTS
2024-25 2nd (88) NTS TBD TBD