Loras College Athletics

Ethan Adlfinger enters his second season as head coach of the Loras College cross country teams ahead of the 2025-26 year after spending the previous five years as an assistant under longtime former head coach Bob Schultz. Adlfinger joined the Duhawks in 2019 after serving as a graduate assistant coach for the men’s cross country and track and field programs at North Central College, focusing on recruiting efforts for the Cardinals.
 
Since Adlfinger’s arrival, the Duhawks have had 24 student-athletes earn All-American status in the distance and middle distance events at the NCAA National Championships, with six having won national titles. In 2019, the Duhawks had three cross country national championship qualifiers in Kassie Parker, Audrey Miller and Luke Guttormson with All-America honors awarded to Parker (5^th) and  Miller (25^th). The women’s 5K school record was also set during the 2020 cross country season by Parker (17:56). 

In 2023, Loras closed out the season No. 25 in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Associateion (USTFCCCA) rankings after the Purple and Gold finished 29th at the NCAA Championships. Adlfinger helped coach four Duhawks to All-Region status in Ryan Harvey, Julian Watson, Carlo Dannenfelseer, and Jacob Belha. Belha, Harvey, Watson, and Eric Rutherford each earned All-Conference nods at the At the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Championships following the team's third place finish. 

In 2021, Adlfinger helped coach Parker to win the national championship in cross country in 2021, the first in program history, and take the indoor titles in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs a the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship. He also worked with the men's and women's distance medley relays that claimed All-America honors and helped the teams to two podium finishes, including the women's first indoor national title.
 
In his fourth season as the cross country assistant coach, Adlfinger helped lead the Duhawks to another successful season.  The Women’s cross country team finished 2^nd in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C), 4^th in the Midwest Regional, and 18^th at the NCAA National Championship.  Senior Kassie Parker was an A-R-C Champion and an NCAA National Champion.  The Men’s team saw success as well, finishing 2^nd in the A-R-C, 3^rd in the Midwest Regional, and 20^th at the NCAA National Championship.  Both teams earned an at-large bid to the National Championship. 

The 2021 track & field season was highlighted with an American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) championship for the women’s program and the Loras coaching staff being named coaching staff of the year. The women went on to win the program’s second-straight NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field National Title two weeks later in Greensboro, NC. The women's program captured the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor Championship title following the indoor conference title. In his career as a student-athlete and coach, Adlfinger has been a part of two national titles with the Duhawks and eight in his career. 
 
A former student-athlete for the legendary Al Carius, Adlfinger was a part of six team national titles and three podium finishes. He is a two-time All-American in cross country and track and field and ran on the 2016 cross country team that set and still holds the NCAA record for largest margin of victory. He was a three-time national qualifier for cross country, a two-time qualifier in the steeplechase and a member of the distance medley relay team that earned All-America accolades in 2017. Adlfinger currently holds the North Central freshman record in the steeplechase, running 9:15.60, and ranks third in program history in the same event (9:02.64). As a graduate assistant coach at North Central, Adlfinger helped lead the Cardinals to their 18^th and 19^th NCAA Division III men’s cross country national titles as well as the 2019 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field title. 
 
Adlfinger owns six United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Academic All-America honors and was an 11-time College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Academic award winner.  

He holds certifications in strength and conditioning and sprint, hurdles, and relays from the USTFCCCA and graduated from North Central in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a minor in coaching and master’s degree in sports leadership in 2019.

Adlfinger currently resides in Dubuque with his wife, Emily, and their son, William.