APPLETON, Wis. -- Moira Ruhly has resigned her position as the head cross country and track and field coach at Lawrence University, Director of Athletics Robert Beeman announced.
Ruhly, in her seventh year as a coach at Lawrence, informed Beeman of her intention
to resign back in April. She told the track team following the Midwest Conference
Championships.
A native of Larchmont, N.Y., Ruhly joined the Lawrence staff as the women's
soccer coach and assistant track and field coach in 1999. Ruhly led the women's
soccer team for six seasons, and her Vikings had a number of significant achievements.
Lawrence won the Midwest Conference championship in 2000, and the Vikings won
MWC Tournament championships in 2000 and 2001. Under her guidance, Lawrence
became the first women's soccer team in conference history to win a NCAA Division
III Tournament game when the Vikings defeated Aurora University in 2001.
The 2001 Midwest Conference Coach of the Year, Ruhly's team posted the only unbeaten conference season in school history in 1999 when the Vikings finished 10-0-1. Ruhly had a career record of 49-50-6, which included a 13-6-1 mark in 2001.
Ruhly took over the cross country and track programs in 2005 after serving as an assistant track coach since 2000. During her time with the track program, Lawrence broke new ground on the national level.
In 2003, Kolade Agbaje-Williams became the first athlete in Lawrence track history
to earn All-America honors indoors and outdoors in the same season. The Vikings
also had another first with three qualifiers for the NCAA outdoor championships
in 2003. In her first season as the head track coach in 2005, the Lawrence men
posted a fourth-place finish at the conference outdoor championships, and that
was Lawrence's highest finish since 1986. Lawrence broke 10 indoor and outdoor
track records under Ruhly over the past two seasons.
In her only season as the cross country coach, the Lawrence women took second at the conference meet for the third consecutive season and three runners earned all-conference honors.
A national search for a new head track and field and cross country coach has already begun.