Aug 28, 2023
“As the head coach at Grace Christian University, I'm looking for athletes who are hard working, polite, good students, and committed to competing in cross country and/or track & field. In my first year as head coach, our men's cross country team made school history by not only qualifying as a team for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Championships, but then by placing 3rd in the country at the meet (again, making school history). Since then, our cross country teams have finished on the podium at the NCCAA National Championships three times. I have also coached our top female distance runner to back-to-back individual National Championships in 2018 and 2019 (and a seventh and second place finishes, respectively, before that). This same female runner came to us with a high school 5k PR of 20:13 and has since run an 18:48 on the track for us. I have also coached our women's indoor distance medley team to a top 5 finish at Nationals, as well as our first ever All-American in track (we just started our track team in 2018) in the 800m. As a coach, my strengths lie in the relationships I build with my athletes and the ability I have to challenge you to be better, not only in running or field events, but also in the classroom and society. I believe in giving thanks for the blessings bestowed upon us, doing good things for others, treating your teammates like family, working hard every day for practice, and having fun. We offer scholarships based on academic GPA. Our school has granted 100% of incoming freshmen with financial aid, in addition to being one of the cheapest Christian schools in the country. In addition to that, I can promise you that each year I intend for us to compete for team and individual NCCAA national championships and that I can guarantee you my time, passion, and attention to you as an individual regardless of your times, distances, and abilities. We are a small school, located in Grand Rapids, MI. Grace Christian University seeks to serve the greater needs of church and society by offering a number of undergraduate degrees in our traditional program. We offer four year degrees in ministry, worship arts, human services, sports management, teacher education, exercise science, family studies, pre-professional studies (medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, other related fields), history, accounting, business, management, and marketing. Because our campus is small, we have an awesome, close-knit school community. I encourage you to check out our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/GraceXCTF), Twitter page ("@GCU_XCTF), and website (www.gracetigers.com) to learn more about what it's like to be a member of our team and to learn more about me as a coach. Feel free to contact me at any time with any questions.”
—Coach Gerry Verwey
Men's Track Academic Minimums
- GPA: 2.5 (out of 4.0)
- SAT: 940 (out of 1600)
- ACT: 20 (out of 36)