VIC FINCH JOINS FERRIS TRACK/CROSS COUNTRY COACHING STAFF

Longtime Collegiate Coach Helps Fill Bulldog Coaching Void

The 45-year old Finch will assist in all phases of the Bulldog men's and women's track/cross country program including coaching, training, recruiting and administrative functions. He helps fill the void left behind with the departure of former assistant coach Josh Stryker, who accepted a head coaching position at his alma mater, Northwood University, in March 2007.

"Vic has outstanding recruiting experience and will be a tremendous addition to our staff," Kavalunas said. "Both he and I think alike in terms of our coaching along with training philosophies and are on the same page.

"He came in last spring and did a great job helping us out. It was a tough transition, but our student-athletes really accepted his training program and made tremendous strides under his guidance," Kavalunas added.

A 1980 Midland (Mich.) High School graduate, Finch majored in physical education during his undergraduate tenure at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. He has past coaching experience on the collegiate level as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I institutions Michigan State, Indiana State and Eastern Michigan. Additionally, he has also coached both track and cross country at Southwestern Michigan College.

As a coach, Finch has worked with two different Olympic-level sprinters who have ran in a total of three combined Olympic Games in 1988, 1996 and 2000. They included Laurel Johnson, who ran for Jamaica in 1988, and Sevatheda Fynes of the Bahamas. Fynes, who competed in both the '96 and 2000 Olympic competitions, won a silver medal as a member of her country's 4x100-meter relay team in 1996 and then claimed a gold medal in the same event four years later. Fynes also won four NCAA-I National Championships in the sprints during her collegiate career at Eastern Michigan and Michigan State. Johnson claimed two National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championships and ran on the world's fourth-ranked 4x100-meter relay team in 1988.

Additionally, Finch helped Holi Hycha win seven NCAA-I National Championships in the sprints at Indiana State. At one time, she was ranked number one in the world over 100 meters.

"Vic has many years of experience in coaching and I'm really looking forward to working with him on a daily basis as we continue to build our programs," said Kavalunas.

Finch competed in both track and cross country as a prep athlete for Midland High School. He and his wife, Kelly, presently reside in Midland. The couple has two sons, Alec and Matthew.

The Bulldog women's outdoor track and field team took fifth place while the men's squad was ninth overall at the 2007 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships under Kavalunas.

Ferris recently wrapped up its fall cross country season and continues to train for the start of the 2008 indoor track campaign in early January.