Coaching Staff
Tina McDonie is in her fifth season as head coach at Lake Forest after spending two years as the Foresters' assistant coach. During her time with the team, both the men's and women's squads have recorded their finest seasons in the ten-year history of the program. The 2004 men's team placed seventh at the Midwest Conference Championship Meet. It marked the first time in the team's history that two of its members earned all-conference honors and Dan Hankosky became the program's first two-time All-MWC runner. Hankosky broke his own school record with a 26:16 8K time at the NCAA Regional Meet. He posted four of the top five times in team history this season and the team ran 11 of the fastest 25. The women's team also placed seventh at the 2004 MWC Championships. Katie Snowden became the first Forester female to earn all-conference honors two years in a row with her eighth-place finish. Five of her seven 5K times during the season are listed among the program's top 25. In McDonie's four seasons as head coach, Forester men have completely re-written the school record books by recording the program's six fastest times and 24 of the top 25. The only four male runners in team history to achieve all-conference status did so under her direction (Charles Evans in 2001, Eric Crawley in 2002, Dan Hankosky in 2003 and 2004, and Humberto Palmerin in 2004). On the women's side, McDonie has also been part of the Foresters' most successful season. In 1999, her first as an assistant with the team, the squad placed fifth at the MWC Championship, its highest-ever finish. More than half of the 25 fastest times in school history have occurred since McDonie joined the staff and 11 since she became head coach. A self-coached triathlete, McDonie competed in her first triathlon in 1998 and has already achieved a high level of success in the sport. She won the inaugural Pleasant Prairie Triathlon last August and later that fall qualified for the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, where she placed second in her age group. McDonie has been a member of local running clubs in State College, Pennsylvania (Liberty Road and Track) and Lake County, Illinois (Lake Forest/Lake Bluff) and has raced all distances through the half-marathon. She has also competed at all levels of competitive swimming - summer swim leagues, YMCA, AAU, high school, NCAA Division I and II, and Masters. Coach McDonie gained her coaching experience first at The Athletic Club in State College, Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1996, and, most recently, at the Patriot Aquatic Club in Lincolnshire, Illinois as an assistant coach for the United States Swimming (USS) age group program from 1998-99. McDonie received her undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University in 1984. While at Lehigh, McDonie was a four-year varsity letter winner on the women's swim team and was named the Most Valuable Swimmer in 1983 and 1984. She qualified for the NCAA national meet and was a conference champion. Additionally, McDonie was named the school's Outstanding Senior Female Athlete and received the ECAC Award for Scholarship and Athletic Prowess.
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