Steve Lynn - Head Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Steve Lynn

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
Phone:
(515) 294-7088

Steve Lynn took over a tradition-rich Iowa State track and field program in 1993, and has led the Cyclones to continued success throughout the past 14 years.

The 2005 Iowa State track team notched another top 20 NCAA finish as four individuals qualified for the NCAA outdoor meet to spur ISU to a 19th-place finish. Oliver Koenig’s runner-up finish in the long jump and Jamal Cann’s third-place effort in the discus were key performances. Decathlete Neil Hines, 800-meter standout Abraham Rotich and long jumper Daniel Kaczmarczyk earned academic All-America honors. Koenig was the Big 12 outdoor long jump champion last season as Iowa State placed seventh as a team. The Cyclones competed in 12 events at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet and finished 14th among 40 schools. Eleven of Lynn’s 13 2005 graduating seniors posted a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher on a team that finished 26th in the NCAA Track and Field Power Ratings.

In his first season at the helm, his squad won both the 1993 Big Eight indoor and outdoor conference titles, helping to further ISU’s reputation as one of the nation’s premier track and field programs.

Lynn built upon his inital achievements and guided the Cyclones to three-straight NCAA top-10 finishes in the mid 1990s.

Six Cyclone athletes took home seven All-America plaques en route to a third-place national finish at the 1997 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. Outdoors, the Cyclones again placed among the nation’s top-10 teams at the NCAA meet. As always, Iowans played a significant role in ISU’s success.

A young Iowa State team finished just 14 points out of the Big 12 Conference’s first division in 2004 at the league indoor meet. The Cyclones were also achievers in the classroom as 26 of Lynn’s student-athletes earned academic all-Big 12 honors last season. Iowa State’s 4 x 100 and 4 x 400-meter relays qualified for the 2003 NCAA Midwest Regional. A total of 12 Cyclones represented ISU in eight regional events. In 2004, 10 Cyclones qualified for NCAA regional competition in eight events. Included in that group was the 4 x 400-meter relay team and hurdlers Justin Sherman and Ryan Boyington.

In 2001, Lynn coached Andy Long to a runner-up finish in the 60-meter hurdles at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, as Long qualified for both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in the hurdles. During the 2001 season, Long also set an Iowa State record in the 60 hurdles with a time of 7.76, breaking Jason Woods’ previous all-time best of 7.78.

In 1999, Lynn saw the shuttle hurdle relay team of Jason Woods, Justin Hyde, Adrian Dunbar and Andy Long set an ISU and Drake Relays record of 56.18. The time was the world best in that event for the 1999 track season. In 1998, Woods, an All-American hurdler, broke the school 55-meter hurdle record.

In 1997, Franklin Nwankpa and Quinn Harris earned All-America honors at the NCAA indoor meet in the 55-meter dash. Woods was an indoor All-American and Big 12 champion in the 55-meter hurdles and the Big 12 400-meter hurdles outdoor champion.

Lynn was named 1993 Big Eight Men’s Track Coach of the Year for his efforts in his inaugural season. An assistant coach at Iowa State since 1978, Lynn stepped into his new position replacing 21-year veteran head coach Bill Bergan. As an encore to Lynn’s incredible first season, he led the Cyclones to their 10th outdoor conference title in 14 years in 1994.

During Lynn’s tenure with the Cyclones, the program has gone from finishing near the bottom of the Big Eight Conference to capturing 15 conference titles since 1981. In all, 55 All-America plaques have been awarded to Cyclone sprinters and hurdlers training under Lynn’s guidance.

In his first year as an assistant (1978-79), Lynn witnessed the Cyclones’ seventh place finish in the Big Eight outdoor championships at Nebraska. Three years later, Iowa State claimed its first outdoor league crown, ending a 36-year drought. By 1984, Iowa State had become a nationally recognized force in track and field and cross country. When the Cyclones returned to Nebraska that year for the Big Eight outdoor meet, they captured the conference crown. Lynn had seen the Iowa State program make a complete turnaround in his short stay.

Lynn’s principle duties while serving under Bergan were with the sprinters and the hurdlers. He has seen his athletes break all of Iowa State’s 14 school sprint and hurdle records. In 1996, the 4x100 relay team set the all-time Big Eight meet record (39.23), won the Drake Relays and placed third at the NCAA Championship.

In 1985, ISU was the first collegiate team to have three athletes run 44-second splits on the same 4x400 team.

Olympic silver medalist Danny Harris has been labeled by many as Lynn’s most prominent pupil. The three-time NCAA 400-meter hurdles champion is the best of an outstanding collection of hurdlers that have run at Iowa State. Olympic bronze medalist Sunday Uti was a three-time second-place finisher in the 400-meters in NCAA meet competition and a three-time Olympian.

A 1973 graduate of William Penn College, Lynn received his master’s degree from Iowa State in 1979. The Oskaloosa native has spoken at track clinics across the Midwest. He has also authorized nine instructional videos on sprints, hurdles and relays.

Lynn is married to the former K’Lynn Kuehl of Schleswig. They have a daughter Erica, a member of the ISU women’s track team, and a son Scott, the 2005 Iowa high school Class 4-A 110-meter hurdle champion.