FAX: (509) 527-5960
Email Address: jensenk@whitman.edu
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The most recent example is the women's cross country program, which overcame a key injury to place sixth at the 1995 NAIA national championships. It marked the third time in four years that the Whitman women finished in the No. 6 spot at nationals. Their best finish -- fifth -- came at the end of the 1994 season.
Whitman's 1994 cross country season was special in more ways than one. Few observers were surprised when Jensen's powerful women's team repeated as Northwest Conference cross country champs in the fall of 1994. His men's team was full of surprises, however, shaking off nagging injuries and illness at the conference finals to tie Linfield for the NCIC title.
Given Whitman's twin titles, there was no surprise when Jensen was named the 1994 conference "Coach of the Year" for both women's and men's cross country. It was the second consecutive year he received that honor on the women's side.
The Whitman women were favored to win their third straight Northwest Conference title in 1995 until three-time All-American Jessica Bissonnette suffered a stress fracture midway through the season. Teammate Kathleen Gibson filled in admirably, however, winning the women's individual conference title. On the men's side, Whitman's Alex Rolfe also captured a conference championship.
Jensen, a professor of physical education, came to Whitman in 1969 as an assistant football coach and head track coach. A pole vaulter and hurdler in high school, Jensen later competed at the highest levels of college football. He earned junior college All-America honors and finished his playing days in the old single-wing backfield at UCLA. He and his Bruin teammates played in the 1962 Rose Bowl.
Shortly after his arrival at Whitman, Jensen revived its track & field program and earned NAIA District I coach-of-the-year honors in 1972. He captured the same NAIA honor in 1983 when his men's cross country team qualified for nationals. He temporarily switched from track to skiing for a five-year span beginning in the mid-1980s, guiding the men's alpine team to a third-place finish at nationals in 1986 and the women's team to a national championship in 1988.
With Jensen at the helm, the women's track team enjoyed one of its best seasons during the spring of 1995. Led by Bissonnette (junior, Portland, Oregon), who captured a national title in the 3,000 meters and placed third in the 5,000, the Whitman women placed 11th at the NAIA national track championships. Amanda Bradford (freshman, Vancouver, Wash.) gave Whitman a third-place showing in the javelin. Bradford returned to nationals in 1996, placing second in the javelin.
Jensen, now the dean of conference coaches in both track and cross country, reports that recruiting is going well. "We have competitive programs, which is what attracts athletes, and the athletes who are good students get very excited about Whitman," he said.
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