Rochester hires Gudeman as cross-country coach

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Rochester School Board approved the hiring of Alex Gudeman as Rochester’s new cross-country coach at its Monday meeting.

Gudeman is a 2013 Rochester grad who later ran collegiately at Manchester University. He also has previous assistant coaching experience at Rochester.

He spent the 2021-22 school year teaching within the Tippecanoe Valley schools.

Gudeman replaces Eric Linn, who resigned after one season and took a teaching position within the Warsaw schools.

Gudeman was third among individuals at the 2011 Culver Academy sectional. He was fifth at the 2012 sectional.

Gudeman is also a former sectional champion in the 1,600 meters in track in 2013.

Gudeman inherits a program that won both the girls and boys Three Rivers Conference titles last fall. Both teams would qualify for semistate.

The Rochester girls have made semistate five straight years. The boys have made semistate nine times in the last 11 years, including Gudeman’s junior and senior years in high schools.

Gudeman will also be a high school science teacher at Rochester High School.