Jerald Schafer - Head Coach 

Coach Schafer begins his twenty-first year at the helm of the Hardrocker cross country and track & field programs after serving eight years as an assistant coach at the high school and collegiate levels.  An Adams State College (CO) graduate, coach Schafer brings the knowledge, experience and tradition for excellence from that nationally known program to the SDSM&T campus.

During the past twenty years the Hardrocker cross country teams have distinguished themselves by winning several men’s and women’s team titles at the conference and district level.  The “Runnin’ Rockers” have accounted for thirty-one all-conference honors and five individual titles while qualifying twenty-seven runners for the national championship.

On the track and in the field SDSM&T has been equally successful with forty-two national competitors, fifteen national placers, and eleven All-American honors since 1986.  Hardrocker track & field athletes have been named Scholar-Athlete no less than twelve times.  “Athletics and academics at SDSM&T epitomizes what college athletics was meant to be.  We combine the best of both worlds to better prepare student-athletes for the future,” says coach Schafer. 

The belief that hard work and dedication can overcome any challenge is what motivates the athletes on the Hardrocker cross country and track & field teams to strive for excellence in everything they do, and the Black Hills and SDSM&T provide the perfect environment for student-athletes to develop to their fullest potential.