I think it's so hilarious that the new Track coach that Chunko hired was only promoted after the AD saw what a great job he did being the women's interim head coach while she was on maternity leave. Clearly Chunko wasn't allowing him to reach his potential and the AD saw that. Makes you wonder about the future of the 800 assistant. He actually looks like he has run before and besides the national meet has done a bang up job with the 800 runners.
I think it's so hilarious that the new Track coach that Chunko hired was only promoted after the AD saw what a great job he did being the women's interim head coach while she was on maternity leave. Clearly Chunko wasn't allowing him to reach his potential and the AD saw that. Makes you wonder about the future of the 800 assistant. He actually looks like he has run before and besides the national meet has done a bang up job with the 800 runners.
So I hate it when people say things like 'It's just D3, who even cares', but there's no way it's healthy to spend this much time obsessing over a team you were apparently never even a part of. Like this is either some big troll or you're genuinely really upset about all this, and in either case it's bizarre, parasocial behavior
I know the Oles outscored all the distance teams by a lot, but I'd also argue it was an underwhelming meet for them, especially given how dominant they were in XC. Mac, Carleton, and even Gustavus were able to steal some points from the Oles that they probably shouldn't be able to. I'm obviously not talking about the 800 or their tactics with Ihrke.
I know they aren't as good on the track as in XC, but should we have expected more?
You make a good point. Looks like Olaf fired their volleyball coach who had as much success as Chunko. Should he be worried too? Poor conference results and many reports of poor conduct, mismanagement of funds and a boss that wants more for the program could be bad news for Chunko!
Wow! Looks like the rumors were correct and Chunko was canned. The AD is really cleaning house after firing their MIAC champion volleyball coach.
Wonder if the exorbitant WashU trip was the last straw? The Oles could have stayed in Minnesota and raced at St. John's, but instead spent a ton of money to travel to St. Louis. Or more likely his inability to meet the conduct and spending guidelines issues by the strength coach led to his dismissal. Guess that solves the question of whether the 800 coach will leave for a head coaching job.
What a baby. He gets demoted due to poor performance for the track team and then abandons him team mid season. If he put any effort into working with the admin, he’d still be at St. Olaf. The team was told family reasons, but we can all read between the lines. I’ll miss seeing him pout when his athletes fail to perform to his silly seeds. At least the new coach has Minnesota coaching ties. That will help with recruiting and possibly even get the State Meet back to Olaf.
Get a life buddy. Instead of obsessing and manufacturing outrage about another team's coach, maybe start worrying about your own team staring down the barrel of not team qualifying and possibly having 0 individual qualifiers to the national meet you host this year
I feel for the Oles. Chunko leaving in season prevented them from doing a national search and that was really selfish of him. It would be a very attractive job. I bet the Edina coach is livid.
The strength coach was pretty clear he had a vision for Chunko meet and it sounds like the pressure was too much. Will be interesting to see how the new coach handles the budget restrictions and roster limits.
I'm pretty excited to come back to this thread in like a year or two and see you people explain how everything imperfect at Olaf is still somehow Power's fault, just like how every Olaf success has been solely because of Phil 5+ years on. Gonna be fun to contort my brain to follow the logic that every single thing that happens is directly because of a coach that isn't there anymore
On one hand I expect them to get much better with a different coach applying more scientific based training, the cupboard is so bare next year. I don’t know that a single Ole not named Kevin Turlington can run sub 15:00. Power definitely scooted out of town at the right time with Nationals just across the river. With how other teams are recruiting, I fully expect the MIAC profile to change in the next few years.
Talked with several Ole alumni last weekend when the news hit, so I’ll share the facts I know.
Power and the AD didn’t get along from the start and she was upset he spent too much money, had numerous conduct complaints, let too many discipline issues slide, and couldn’t figure out how to be professional with her assistant AD. Evidently he had been on an improvement plan with HR since she took over. The admin took away the track position as a warning and told him he would have to make cuts next year because she wants to divert cross country roster money to other sports that are struggling. The assistant purportedly told Power that only five score, so they don’t need 45 men. He didn’t take that well and trashed the admin to the team. It is no secret he and the strength coach/assistant AD can’t event be in the same room together. The AD found out he had been applying to other coaching roles and told him his contract wouldn’t be renewed this summer and that he shouldn't expect to use anyone at St. Olaf as reference in a future job searches.
He couldn’t find a coaching roles, so he’s going into sales in Illinois and the Oles now have a new coach that has very strict rules to follow due to Power’s lack of structure. The alumni all like the assistant and are optimistic that he’ll have similar results. Most of the guys I know really like Power. It’s only a small minority that don’t, but all are aware the admin doesn’t like the XC program, Power, or anything involved with the team.
You make a good point. Looks like Olaf fired their volleyball coach who had as much success as Chunko. Should he be worried too? Poor conference results and many reports of poor conduct, mismanagement of funds and a boss that wants more for the program could be bad news for Chunko!
I have good friends that are Oles, but haven’t talked to any of them about this . If even a tenth of this true my heart goes out to them. nobody wants to lose a coach in season for good or bad reasons.
Power was always nice to me despite it being very clear he wanted to beat us. He always talked to the other fast guys in the MIAC and made sure they knew he was paying attention to their improvement. He seemed pretty chill. Seems like the Oles liked him for the most part. I bet they are sad about his departure. If my coach left I’d be devastated. I’m sure the WashU races were really emotional for everyone involved. I’m sure he left for reasons that make a lot of sense to him, but I cannot understand leaving during the season. It seemed like he really cared about his team based on what I’ve heard. I hope he finds what he needs and that the new head coach can help them do just well enough not to win the MIAC, but also heal in a way they need.
It’s sad the Ole admin has only blocked comments on post regarding Power. I’d think many posters would have liked to wish the new track coach congrats in the previous post and wish Power well or Kopnick congrats in the latest post. This shows the Olaf admin is trying to control the narrative and is afraid of what the Dr. P fan club will have to say.
Saw Chunko walk into Reunion tonight with his lady and I have to apologize for doubting his game. While he’s a Northfield 4.5, that tall blonde cougar was easily a Northfield 12. And at least a 8 on either campus. Good on you sir.
The likely answer is his actual girlfriend found out about this and told him to move back to Illinois or the relationship is over. Sounds like the Carleton junior detective club playing Sherlock Holmes are the only way the Carls can beat Olaf.
I fully expect better meets now that the Coach Pattie will be in charge. Since St. Olaf hosts a lot I expect many positive changes. The Ole women’s track team has improved immensely in her short tenure. I can only imagine we’ll see the same in meet hosting. Most other MIAC coaches have been very impressed with Pattie and were sick of Power’s insistence on using championship seedings for regular season meets, hard ash meet management and lengthy emails with last minute changes before meets. This will be a welcome change. I’m sure she’ll have her staff ready to host a great MIAC championship. She’s probably excited to not have Power stand in her way anymore.
Anyone have info on the Oles class? Wonder how this will impact getting a good group. If I'm Dave, Dan or Brendo I'm calling every one of them and asking them if they are sure of their choice. I don't think any Oles liked him enough to transfer, but we may see some freshmen from far away look to be closer to home with more stability.