SJP Cross-Country Coaches Honored by Section 5a

Lance Nydeen and Stephen Woods Named Section 5A Coaches of the Year

Saint John’s Prep is proud to announce that Girls’ Cross-Country co-coaches Lance Nydeen and Stephen Woods have been named the Section 5A Girls’ Head Coaches of the Year!  This honor comes after the girls’ team earned both the Section 5A Championship and the Central Minnesota Conference Championship titles. The team will next compete on November 7 at the state cross country championship race.

The coaches and assistant coaches in each section vote to select their honorees each year. “Coach of the Year is a very special honor because it is a recognition by our peers,” Coach Nydeen says. “Section 5A has a group of highly talented and veteran coaches. I am always so impressed at the respectful and supportive sportsmanship and conduct of our athletes! That conduct and behavior is a direct result of their coaches.”

Coach Nydeen has been involved in a variety of sports during his 37 years as a coach, including Nordic skiing, track and field, and football. At Saint John’s Prep he became the head girls’ track and field coach in 1995 and the head boys’ and girls’ cross-country coach in 2009.

Coach Woods is a 2009 graduate of Saint John’s Prep. Besides coaching cross-country, Coach Woods has served as a basketball coach at Prep, four years for the boys’ varsity team and one year for the girls’ varsity team. He also currently coaches distance runners for the Prep track and field team. Coach Woods previously earned the assistant coach of the year honor twice for coaching the boys’ cross-country team, and once for serving as assistant coach of the girls’ cross-country team.

“This season has been highlighted by an incredibly dedicated group of girls who care about putting their team first! They have been doing more strength work and cross training outside of normal practices this year and have been diligent about their recovery,” says Coach Woods. “We don’t know how the state meet will turn out yet, but I am sure they will put everything they have out on the course on Saturday!”

The Johnnies will race on Saturday, November 7, in the MSHSL State Championship Race at the Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake, Minnesota. The girls’ team, consisting of Margaret Duffy ’27, Claudia Ruzanic ’28, Sarah Schoenhard ’30, Brooke Schmidt ’28, Ellen Bechtold ’28, Flora Steiner ’29, and Kayla McIntyre ’28 will race at 12:15pm.

Senior Margaret Duffy of St. John’s Prep took home the individual Section 5A girls cross county championship with a time of 17:43.1, 1 minute 25 seconds ahead of the second-place runner! She will try to earn her second cross-country title, she earned first place in the 2025 MSHSL Class A Cross Country Championship race.

The Saint John’s Prep boys’ team is sending one Johnnie to compete at the MSHSL Championship Race on Saturday. Junior Adrian Gallagher-Mancini ’28 will compete in the boy’s race. The boys’ race will begin at 1:00pm.

The girls’ and boy’s cross-country teams are also coached by assistants Kurt Salzl ’87 and Charles Miller.