Rinker Inducted into 2011 Brevard College Athletic Hall of Fame

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Penn Laird resident Dave Rinker was recently inducted into the 2011 Brevard College Athletic Hall of Fame in Brevard, N.C.

BREVARD, NC (10/26/2011)(readMedia)-- Penn Laird resident Dave Rinker was recently inducted into the 2011 Brevard College Athletic Hall of Fame in Brevard, N.C.

Rinker, who served as the Head Coach of the BC Cross Country and Track & Field programs and Director of Athletics for the Tornados from 1984-1999, was one of two recipients who were awarded the College's highest athletic recognition for demonstrating exceptional personal achievement and making distinctive contributions to the advancement of athletics.

While at Brevard, Rinker coached two teams to National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national titles in men's cross country in 1987 and 1990, and led three women's (1985-1987) and two men's (1986, 1989) teams to NJCAA cross country runner-up finishes.

He coached 119 NJCAA All-Americans in his 15 years at Brevard College and saw 10 individuals win National Championships in cross country and track and field. His men's teams won five North Carolina collegiate state cross country titles over a variety of two-year and four-year institutions, winning the titles in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1994. Rinker was named the NJCAA men's cross country Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1990. He was also named the 1999 NJCAA men's outdoor track Coach of the Year and was inducted into the NJCAA Coaches' Hall of Fame in 1999.

Rinker was selected to coach the U.S. Men's Junior World Cross Country Team in 1998 and through his tutelage, three of his athletes earned positions on the U.S. Junior World Cross Country Team, while two others were selected to the U.S. Men's Senior World Cross Country Team.

As the athletic director at Brevard, Rinker also oversaw the addition of baseball, volleyball and softball to the school's athletic offerings and the construction of new facilities for track and field, softball and baseball.

He served as president of the NJCAA Cross Country Coaches' Association from 1994-1996.

Brevard College (www.brevard.edu) offers a range of distinctive baccalaureate degree programs on a beautiful residential campus in Brevard, North Carolina. Curriculum at Brevard combines small-classroom instruction with creative internships and immersion experiences, provides a strong core in the liberal arts and offers great strength in fine arts as well as in interdisciplinary programs that educate for leadership and service and draw on the natural resources of the College's mountain setting.