Men's Cross Country
Dennis Newell
- Title:
- Head Cross Country Coach
- Email:
- Dennis.Newell@ndsu.edu
Dennis Newell enters his sixth season at North Dakota State University as the Head Cross Country and Assistant Track & Field Coach for middle distance and long distance in 2026-27.
Newell wasted no time in making his mark as a Bison in the 2021 season. He guided the Bison women to a runner-up finish at the Summit League Cross Country Championships, almost stealing the title in his first three months on the job as NDSU finished second by only one point. In 2022, the Bison women finished the job with a Summit League Cross Country title.
In 2023, the Bison men finished Summit League Runner-Up off a tie breaker, just missing the title. This was the highest finish for the Bison men since their 1982 NCAA Division II North Central Conference Cross Country title. In 2024, Reagan Baesler won the Summit League Cross Country women’s individual title and set the Summit League Cross Country course record. The Bison women have finished in the Top 3 in cross country for 17 consecutive seasons. The Bison men have finished in the Top 3 in cross country for 11 consecutive seasons.
In track, Newell has helped lead the Bison men and women to 13 Summit League Indoor and Outdoor Team titles in five years. In those five years and in route to those 13 team titles, Newell mentored his student-athletes to 77 NDSU Top 10 marks, 6 NDSU School Records, 15 Summit League Individual titles, and 4 NCAA West Region Individual Qualifiers.
Prior to North Dakota State University, Newell spent the 15 years at the University of Mary, serving as the head cross country coach and associate head track & field coach from 2006-17, head cross country and track & field coach from 2017-20, and Director of Cross Country and Track & Field 2020-21.
Newell developed Mary into a regional and national power in cross country and track & field, specializing in the middle distance and long-distance events. The Marauders won 24 NSIC team championships in cross country and track & field during his tenure, including 19 titles in women's track & field from 2007-2021. The Mary women earned NCAA Division II runner-up team finishes in cross country in both 2017 and 2018 and earned an NCAA Division II podium finish (4th place), in indoor track & field in 2018.
Newell has mentored 172 NCAA D-II All-Americans and 12 individual national champions, including Ida Narbuvoll in 2021, who won the NCAA Division II National titles in both the 10,000m and 5,000m, setting the Division II outdoor 5,000m record. Narbuvoll then went on to compete in the 2021 Norwegian Track & Field Championships and won the 10,000m and was runner-up in the 5,000m.
Newell boasts 21 Coach of the Year honors in his career, highlighted by being named the 2013 NCAA Division II National Indoor Women's Assistant Coach of the Year. He has garnered eight NCAA Division II Central Region Head Coach of the Year accolades, and 11 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year awards.
Newell is a USATF Level I, II, and III (Endurance) certified coach and holds his USTFCCCA Master Endorsements in cross country and middle distance.
Newell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in wellness management from Black Hills State University in 2004 and a Master of Science in kinesiology from North Dakota in 2005. He was a 10-time NAIA All-American at Black Hills State in cross country and track, earning individual national runner-up honors in both cross country (2002) and outdoor track (2003).
A native of Williston, N.D., Newell spent the first 10 years of his life in North Dakota before moving to Billings, Montana, and graduating from Skyview HS. He is married to Parshall, N.D., native Catelin Newell (NDSU, 2003), and they have four children – Piper Lynn, Christian Joseph, Crosby Ray and Jonah Lee.
The Coaching File:
Newell wasted no time in making his mark as a Bison in the 2021 season. He guided the Bison women to a runner-up finish at the Summit League Cross Country Championships, almost stealing the title in his first three months on the job as NDSU finished second by only one point. In 2022, the Bison women finished the job with a Summit League Cross Country title.
In 2023, the Bison men finished Summit League Runner-Up off a tie breaker, just missing the title. This was the highest finish for the Bison men since their 1982 NCAA Division II North Central Conference Cross Country title. In 2024, Reagan Baesler won the Summit League Cross Country women’s individual title and set the Summit League Cross Country course record. The Bison women have finished in the Top 3 in cross country for 17 consecutive seasons. The Bison men have finished in the Top 3 in cross country for 11 consecutive seasons.
In track, Newell has helped lead the Bison men and women to 13 Summit League Indoor and Outdoor Team titles in five years. In those five years and in route to those 13 team titles, Newell mentored his student-athletes to 77 NDSU Top 10 marks, 6 NDSU School Records, 15 Summit League Individual titles, and 4 NCAA West Region Individual Qualifiers.
Prior to North Dakota State University, Newell spent the 15 years at the University of Mary, serving as the head cross country coach and associate head track & field coach from 2006-17, head cross country and track & field coach from 2017-20, and Director of Cross Country and Track & Field 2020-21.
Newell developed Mary into a regional and national power in cross country and track & field, specializing in the middle distance and long-distance events. The Marauders won 24 NSIC team championships in cross country and track & field during his tenure, including 19 titles in women's track & field from 2007-2021. The Mary women earned NCAA Division II runner-up team finishes in cross country in both 2017 and 2018 and earned an NCAA Division II podium finish (4th place), in indoor track & field in 2018.
Newell has mentored 172 NCAA D-II All-Americans and 12 individual national champions, including Ida Narbuvoll in 2021, who won the NCAA Division II National titles in both the 10,000m and 5,000m, setting the Division II outdoor 5,000m record. Narbuvoll then went on to compete in the 2021 Norwegian Track & Field Championships and won the 10,000m and was runner-up in the 5,000m.
Newell boasts 21 Coach of the Year honors in his career, highlighted by being named the 2013 NCAA Division II National Indoor Women's Assistant Coach of the Year. He has garnered eight NCAA Division II Central Region Head Coach of the Year accolades, and 11 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year awards.
Newell is a USATF Level I, II, and III (Endurance) certified coach and holds his USTFCCCA Master Endorsements in cross country and middle distance.
Newell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in wellness management from Black Hills State University in 2004 and a Master of Science in kinesiology from North Dakota in 2005. He was a 10-time NAIA All-American at Black Hills State in cross country and track, earning individual national runner-up honors in both cross country (2002) and outdoor track (2003).
A native of Williston, N.D., Newell spent the first 10 years of his life in North Dakota before moving to Billings, Montana, and graduating from Skyview HS. He is married to Parshall, N.D., native Catelin Newell (NDSU, 2003), and they have four children – Piper Lynn, Christian Joseph, Crosby Ray and Jonah Lee.
The Coaching File:
- 5 Years at NDSU
- 41 NDSU Indoor Top 10 Performances
- 36 NDSU Outdoor Top 10 Performances
- 6 NDSU School Records
- 13 Summit League Team Championships
- 15 Summit League Event Champions
- 1 Summit League Coach of the Year
- 4 NCAA West Region Qualifiers
- 17 Years prior to NDSU
- 24 Conference Team Championships
- 20 Coach of the Year Honors
- 3 NCAA Division II National Team Trophies (Top 4)
- 12 NCAA Division II National Individual Champions
- 1 NCAA Division II National Record (Women’s 5k)
- 172 NCAA Division II All-Americans
- 1 Norwegian National Champion (Women’s 10k)
Monday, October 20
Friday, May 26
Monday, February 13
Wednesday, January 18
