Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference

Fred Dahnke graduated from Moorhead State University in 1971 with a degree in Health & Physical Education. He was a member of the school record setting men’s 4X880 yard relay team. He was a member of the 1970 NIC Indoor Championship Team and earned the Moorhead State Red Baton Award, given to the outstanding team member who contributed the most and did the most for the team.

Dahnke began teaching at West Fargo Public Schools in 1972, a post he retained until 2005. He was named an assistant coach at Moorhead State in 1976 and took the head cross country coaching reigns in 1981. As head cross-country and assistant track coach Dahnke piloted his teams to nine NSIC cross-country championships in nine seasons. He also led his teams to eight NAIA District 13 titles and three top ten finishes at the NAIA National Meet. Dahnke was named NAIA District 13 Coach of the Year six times, NSIC Coach of the Year five times and in 1991 was NAIA Region IV Coach of the Year. He developed three national champions, twenty-five All-Americans and 142 all-conference performers. Dahnke was inducted into the MSU Moorhead Hall of Fame in 1999. Since 2007, Dahnke has been the mayor of Barnesville, Minn.