Luke Kopnick is in his fifth season as an assistant coach for the St. Olaf men's and women's cross country and track and field teams in 2025-26 and works primarily with the distance runners. He also works as the athletic alumni engagement specialist in the Alumni and Parent Relations office.
St. Olaf's men's and women's cross country teams have both finished in the top 20 nationally in all four of Kopnick's seasons on staff. In 2024, the Ole men posted their highest national finish since 2015 by placing eighth, while the St. Olaf women were 17th. The Oles have won four Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) team titles with Kopnick on staff, with the men winning titles in each of the last three seasons (2022-24) and the women doing so in 2021.
In track and field, St. Olaf has placed in the top four in both genders at the MIAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships in each of Kopnick's four seasons on staff, including five runner-up team finishes. The two programs have produced 15 All-Americans over the last four seasons among 29 individual national qualifiers (19 men, 10 women).
Kopnick came to St. Olaf after spending four seasons on the coaching staff of the women's cross country and track and field teams at the University of St. Thomas. At St. Thomas, he coached five NCAA Division III national qualifiers, 22 All-MIAC performers, and one MIAC individual champion, as the Tommies won four MIAC team titles in track and field. During his time at St. Thomas, Kopnick was also named the 2020 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Central Region Indoor Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year.Â
Prior to that, he spent the 2018 track season at the University of Minnesota as a volunteer coach, where he worked with Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Steve Plasencia to develop all aspects of training for distance and middle-distance student-athletes, including the 2018 3,000-meter steeplechase national champion, Obsa Ali.
Kopnick attended Winona State University and competed for the men's cross country team, serving as a team captain in his final two seasons. He went on to earn his graduate degree in sport and athletic administration from Gonzaga University in May 2017. While at Gonzaga, he served as a graduate assistant, planning and implementing daily practices with Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Pat Tyson. Kopnick wrote the training for mid-distance and steeplechase student-athletes, including the school's first All-American in track and field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
