Cross Country Office Honors Program’s Inaugural Coach

On Friday, Sept. 3, St. John Fisher College honored Terry Rodenbeck ’64, an alumnus of the College and the inaugural coach of the cross country program, by renaming the coach’s office in his honor.

Among one of the first teams to compete at the College, the cross country program was formed nearly 60 years ago. Rodenbeck, a gifted runner whose career was ended after suffering a foot injury, was tapped to coach the sport by Patrick Tobin. Since that time, Rodenbeck has been a strong advocate for Fisher Athletics.

“We celebrate Terry’s commitment to the cross country program through his philanthropy as we dedicate the cross country office in his honor,” said Dr. Gerard J. Rooney, president of the College, during the ceremony honoring Rodenbeck. “Terry – on behalf of the hundreds of student-athletes who have represented Fisher on the track and in the field, thank you for your continuing commitment to the sport and to our institution.”

Rodenbeck’s leadership of the program paved the way for the success it enjoys today. Bolstered by the addition of the state-of-the-art Polisseni Track and Field Complex, Fisher has consistently recruited nearly 30 student-athletes to the cross country teams each year, and their success has been instrumental in maintaining the strong reputation of Fisher Athletics across the division. This year’s cross country rosters are by far the largest in the program’s history with more than 50 runners on the two teams.   

Today, both the men’s and women’s programs are led by head coach Mike Henchen, who joined Fisher in 2012 after serving as head coach at Geneseo High School, where he was a two-time Section V Coach of the Year. He has brought that same level of success to the College; the men’s team placed second overall at last year’s Empire 8 Conference Championship, while the women’s team won the program’s first-ever conference title this past season. The program also boasts several individual NCAA national champions.