Imig enters his seventh year as the head cross country and assistant track and field coach at North Park University. He has fourteen years of successful high school and college coaching experience and has twice been named Coach of the Year by his peers.
Over the past six years at North Park, Imig has helped to spearhead a resurgence of cross country and track & field, dramatically increasing the numbers and level of competition of the team. From 2012-2015, Imig has been a part of a track and field coaching staff that as produced 14 school records, 81 All-Conference performances, 128 all-time “top ten” marks, and three NCAA All-Americans.
The 2015 track and field season produced the best Viking team finishes in over a decade. The women claimed sixth place at the indoor conference championship while the teams finished sixth (men) and seventh (women) respectively at the outdoor CCIW meet. Individually, Imig coached Mia Gomez to All-Conference honors in the 3k (indoors) and 10k, and guided the women’s DMR to a fifth place finish at the indoor championships.
The cross country program has also experienced tremendous growth during Imig’s tenure with 10 Vikings adding their names to the school’s all-time “top 25” lists and with dramatically improved invitational, conference, and regional finishes.
The 2014 season produced the highest men’s finish at the conference championships (seventh) since 2008 and saw Mia Gomez earn All-Conference honors with her 16th place finish. Further evidence of the vast improvement the program has made in recent history can be found in the 1-5 team scoring finish times at the conference championships. In 2012, the men's scoring line-up had an average finish time of 31:06. In 2013 it improved to 29:09 and this year North Park dropped an additional 90-plus seconds in averaging 27:37 for 8k. The women's team meanwhile has had over a five-minute improvement from 29:44 in 2012 to 24:31 this season (27:19 in 2013).
At the 2014 regional championships both teams continued their steady climb up through the field:
WOMEN:
2014 - 27th place, 792 pts, 24:33 avg.
2013 - 34th place, 990 pts, 26:33 avg.
2012 - No Team Score
MEN:
2014 - 30th place, 887 pts, 28:06 avg.
2013 - 32nd place, 985 pts, 28:44 avg.
2012 - 39th place, 1139 pts, 31:30 avg.
Prior to coming to North Park, Imig served as the head boys' cross country and assistant track and field coach at St. Charles North High School (St. Charles, Ill.) from 2007 to 2010. Under his tutelage, the cross country team finished sixth (2007), eighth (2008), and 20th (2009) at the IHSA championships and produced two All-State athletes. On the track side, Imig coached thirteen distance athletes to the Illinois State Track & Field Championships and coached five all-state athletes including the 2008 state-champion 4 x 800 relay (7:45). The same relay went on to compete at the Nike Outdoor National Championships earning All-American honors with a fifth place finish.
Imig also served as an assistant coach at Greenville College in Greenville, Ill., from 2005 to 2007. He helped lead the men’s and women’s cross country teams to first place finishes at the 2005 and 2006 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Cross Country Championships and the track and field teams to first (men) and second (women) place finishes at the 2006 NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In total, Imig guided twenty-seven athletes to SLIAC All-Conference honors, produced four NCCAA All-Americans, and two NCAA Division III national qualifiers in cross country and the track and field distance events.
Other coaching experiences for Imig include positions at Bartlett High School (Bartlett, Ill.) and Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill. Imig guided the Bartlett High School girls distance program from 2001 to 2005 and served as a graduate assistant coach at Eastern Illinois University while obtaining a master’s degree in physical education.
As an undergraduate, Imig ran under legendary coach Al Carius at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. Imig was a member of five NCAA Division III national championship cross country and track & field teams and served as a captain on the 1999 cross country team. During his high school career, Imig earned all-state honors in cross country while competing for Joliet Township (Joliet, Ill.). He continues to enjoy training and the occasional race, and has set personal best road times in recent years of 52:17 (ten-miles) and 1:09:50 in the half-marathon.
