Jerry Baltes

Last College: Butler ('98) Position: Head Coach Experience: 12th Year

Jerry Baltes is in his 12th year at the helm of both the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams at Grand Valley State. During that time, Baltes has been able to build six championship programs as the Lakers have won 64 out of 76 cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and field GLIAC championships.

Overall, Baltes has won 33 GLIAC Coach of the Year titles and has groomed 96 All-Americans athletes to a combined total of 271 All-American honors. Baltes has received the Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year Award eight times in cross country, nine times in indoor and nine times in outdoor. The women's cross country, track and field teams at Grand Valley State have won all three (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track) conference championships in each of the last nine seasons, while the men won all three for a streak of five seasons (2003-07). For those accomplishments, Baltes was most recently named the men's and women's cross country Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2008 and named Division II National Women's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2009.

Baltes has led the men's and women's indoor and outdoor track teams to 28 top-20 finishes at the NCAA National Championships. The men's indoor track and field team placed 13th in 2000, 15th in 2001, 12th in 2002, 18th in 2005, 10th in 2006, fourth in 2008, eighth in 2007 and 12th in 2009. The women's team finished 14th in 1999, ninth in 2002, seventh in 2003, 16th in 2005, fifth in 2006, third in 2007, sixth in 2008, second in 2009 and second in 2010. The men's outdoor track and field team finished in 13th place in 2006, eighth in 2007, sixth in 2008, and 12th in 2009. The women's team placed 11th in 2002, 18th in 2005, fourth in 2006, fifth in 2007, eighth in 2008, fourth in 2009 and third in 2010.

The Laker cross country teams have experienced a great deal of success on the national level. Baltes wasted no time in making a name for the women's program as they finished fifth in the nation in 1999 and have finished in the top five every year since them. The women's team has finished in the top three spots in the last four seasons, including second-place finishes in both 2005 and 2008. The men's team has also had success at the national level, making the national stage for the first time in 2002 and finishing ninth. The Lakers finished in fourth place for three consecutive seasons (2005-07), their top finish to date.

Baltes has guided five individuals and two relay teams to NCAA National Championships in his tenure at Grand Valley State. Jason Van Elst became Grand Valley's first-ever individual National Champion as he won the 35# weight throw (65'-9.5") in 2002 in Boston, Mass. Mandi (Long) Zemba became the school's first-ever female athlete to win an individual national championship. She is a four-time NCAA National Champion and won her first title as a true freshman in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:28.53. In 2005, Zemba won the individual National Championship in cross country as she covered the 6,000 meter course in Pomona, Calif. in a time of 21:01.7. She went on to capture the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Emporia, Kan. Her time of 15:48.62 at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational qualified her for the USA Track and Field National Championships in Indianapolis where she finished 16th. Zemba rewrote the distance record books in 2006 by breaking six GVSU school records. Steph Kuhlman claimed the National Championship title in the 800m in 2003 in Edwardsville, Ill. with a winning time of 2:05.34. She set the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship record of 2:05.75 in 2003 in the prelims. Kuhlman also qualified and competed in the 2003 USA Track and Field Championships in Stanford.

Originally from Rolling Prairie, Ind., Baltes was a four-time letter winner and captain of the cross country/track and field teams at Butler University. Graduating from Butler in 1998, Baltes received a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education-physical education.

Baltes was the assistant men's and women's track and field/cross country coach for two years at Butler. His area of focus was with the distance athletes in cross country and the jumpers in track. He played a major role in building a cross country program that qualified for the National Championships. In 1998, he assisted in leading the Butler Bulldogs to 16th place at the NCAA Championships. Baltes also guided Butler's first track athlete to the 1998 National Championships in the 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 meters, since 1971.

Certified by the NCAA to recruit, and in charge of the Midwestern region, Baltes brought in the largest recruiting class ever in Butler cross country history. Having experience in organizing events, scheduling, and keeping his players motivated, Baltes' management skills have played a large role in his success. He assisted in all aspects of team travel, organized team events and activities, coordinated equipment orders with Adidas, and kept contact with alumni.