Northwestern University Athletics
April Ecke Resigns as Women's Cross Country Coach
5/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
May 10, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - April Ecke announced her resignation as the head coach of the Northwestern University women's cross country program. Ecke leaves Northwestern to join her fiancee in the Detroit area -- they are scheduled to be married in September.
Ecke was brought to Evanston in 1998 with the order of reviving a women's cross country program that had been dormant since 1987. As she leaves, she can look back and say she did just that -- and then some.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank [Director of Athletics] Rick Taylor for the opportunity he gave me: to build this program from scratch," Ecke said. "It was an honor, and the challenge was exciting. But what has been built from that initial challenge has been nothing short of amazing."
Last year signalled another step toward national prominence for the program, as the Wildcats qualified sophomore Rachel Evjen for the NCAA National Championship meet. As a team, Northwestern narrowly missed out on an NCAA berth with a fourth-place finish in the Midwest Regional meet. In addition, NU finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships, its best finish since the program regained varsity status in 1998. This past March, NU freshman Emily Blakeslee ran for the United States junior women's team at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Ostend, Belgium. Another Wildcat rookie, Nora Colligan, was an alternate for that squad.
"This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make," said Ecke. "I am leaving a profession I truly love, as well as an amazing group of young women who have worked hard to get where they are today. It has been a privilege for me to work with them these last three years, and I am confident that the tradition we have built during this time will continue. But it is time for me to begin the next phase of my life, and I am looking forward to joining my fiancee in Detroit."
Ecke came to Northwestern from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where she was the head coach of men's and women's cross country as well as women's track and field. From 1995-97, Ecke was the assistant coach for men's and women's cross country at the University of Alabama as well as the assistant track and field coach.
