North Central College Cardinals

Kari Kluckhohn completed her 22nd year as the head women’s track and field coach at the College in 2023-2024. Before coming to North Central, she spent two seasons as head men’s and women’s track and field and cross country coach at North Park University.

In addition to guiding the Cardinals to unprecedented competitive success within the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW), Kluckhohn has also taken a leadership role among her peers serving on the Board of Directors as Secretary of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) She received her USTFCCCA Strength and Conditioning Certification in 2022. Kluckhohn is a 2022 Hall of Fame inductee at North Central.


“We strive to assist our student-athletes in helping them become quality people and team players. By our actions and words, we want them to understand the importance of leadership and their ability to influence those around them to make positive choices on a daily basis. This will not only help them as competitors, but also in life."

• 19 CCIW team championships
  • Indoor - 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Outdoor - 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
• First women's program in CCIW history to win cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field titles in the same academic year, 2010-2011
• Placed seventh at the 2011 outdoor national championships (program's highest finish since 1997)
• Seven individual national championships
• 117 NCAA Division III All-Americans
• 161 CCIW individual and relay championships
• 108 USTFCCCA All-Academic selections
• Three College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Awards
• 14 CSC Academic All-District Awards
• Has personally coached 48 CCIW individual and relay champions, 24 All-Americans and holders of nine school records

• USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year
  • 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014 (indoor)
• 15-time CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year
• Officer, USTFCCCA Division III Track & Field Executive Committee
  • Three years as president
• USTFCCCA Jimmy Carnes Distinguished Service Award, 2015
• North Central College Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, 2022

• Native of Wiota, Wisconsin
• Has also served as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and head coach at Texas Lutheran University
• Seven-time Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) track & field champion, eight-time national championship qualifier, four-time All-American, and 4x400-meter relay national champion at UW-La Crosse
• Graduated from UW-La Crosse with a bachelor's of science degree in elementary and middle-level education (1994) and a master's of science degree in special education (2000)
• Resides in Warrenville with husband, James (North Central associate athletic director for compliance and internal operations) and their sons, Jacob, Nathaniel and Benjamin