It was, he鈥檒l tell you, something of a crazy decision to come to 草莓社区. Jason Lewkowicz and his family were settled and happy in Hannibal, Missouri, where he鈥檇 spent three years building the first track and field program at Hannibal-LaGrange University.
The year before he came, those programs at EMU were hanging on by a thread. The men鈥檚 cross country team had just three members 鈥� not even enough to score as a team at a meet. The women鈥檚 roster was just two names long. Track and field wasn鈥檛 in much better shape, with less than 10 athletes on the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams combined.
Through the coaching grapevine, though, Lewkowicz鈥檚 phone number had ended up in the hands of EMU athletics director Dave King. Soon, Lewkowicz was flying out to visit. Geography was on EMU鈥檚 side 鈥� Lewkowicz鈥檚 wife, Wendy, is from Roanoke, Virginia, just a two-hour drive away. In the summer of 2011, he reported for duty as the new head cross country and track coach.
His Lord leads, Lewkowicz follows
鈥淣one of the places we鈥檝e lived are places I would have chosen to live,鈥� says Lewkowicz, who talks freely and often about his Christian faith. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been led from place to place.鈥�
The first season, he told his athletes that they would be laying the foundations for new and improved track and cross country programs. It was a fundamental task that very few would likely appreciate once the whole house had been built. The cross country teams didn鈥檛 do well at the conference meet, but they actually had enough runners to score as a team 鈥� itself a step in the right direction. The track team finished last at the conference meets, both for the indoor and outdoor seasons. 鈥淗umbling鈥� is the word Lewkowicz uses to describe that first year. Success, though, isn鈥檛 something he measures only by points and scores.
鈥淲e want God to be glorified in everything that we do,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat can be done in victory or defeat all the same.鈥�
Pursuing excellence, glorifying God
Lewkowicz鈥檚 coaching philosophy involves a general pursuit of excellence everywhere, be it in an early-morning biology class, in cross country practice later that afternoon, and on the race course on Saturday.
鈥淚n life, there are only really two things you can control: your effort and your attitude,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hatever moment you鈥檙e in, be present in that moment that God鈥檚 called you to be in.鈥�
Some moments, like perhaps that biology class, can significantly shape life and career in years to come. Be excellent. Others, like an early season track meet, particularly if you鈥檙e a middle-of-the-pack NCAA Division III runner, aren鈥檛 probably going to carry quite the same significance. Still be excellent.
Deep roster now
The numbers alone show that Lewkowicz鈥檚 athletes are responding to his approach and his enthusiasm. This fall, the cross country roster runs close to 40 deep, and about 30 runners travel to meets. Ohio and Pennsylvania have been great recruiting grounds for distance runners. Lewkowicz has had his best luck here in Virginia for other track athletes.
鈥淗e has brought a vision for what the program can become, the knowledge of how to get there, and the energy and work ethic to do it,鈥� says King, who recruited him to EMU.
Lewkowicz鈥檚 athletes also value the individual attention and support they receive, even for interests that can conflict with sports.
Not just one’s athletic ability
鈥淸EMU] made me feel like a person rather than an athlete,鈥� says Richard Robinson, a junior who runs hurdles for Lewkowicz. 鈥淚 chose to come here because of that.鈥�
A star in high school, Robinson was humbled by a last-place finish in his first collegiate race. Lewkowicz told him he鈥檇 just collected some 鈥渉umble swag.鈥� Everybody needs some, the coach said.
鈥淗e just feels great to be around,鈥� adds Robinson.
Jolee Paden, a junior on the cross country and track teams, first met Lewkowicz at a running camp while she was in high school. The two kept in touch, and when Lewkowicz came to EMU for the job, Paden found herself considering a school she鈥檇 never heard of before. The school鈥檚 cross-cultural programs sealed the deal for her. Study abroad is so ingrained at EMU that athletes are supported by their coaches even when they鈥檒l miss an entire season of competition, as Paden did when she went to the Middle East during the spring of her sophomore year.
Student inspired to write book
While on the trip, Paden was inspired to complete a writing project that had been several years in the making: a collection of 
devotionals for runners (Spiritual Runner: A Runner After God鈥檚 Own Heart). The Lewkowicz-inspired philosophy of the cross country and track teams is scattered throughout the book, in sections like the one encouraging runners to step onto the course acting like it鈥檚 the most important thing in the world, but knowing that it鈥檚 not.
鈥淭hat is something he says that has really stuck with me over the years,鈥� she says.
Lewkowicz ran track and cross country in his hometown of Shelby, North Carolina, before walking onto the track team at Appalachian State University as a high jumper. He finished a history degree, then stayed for a master鈥檚 in higher education administration. Within a few years, he鈥檇 become the director of residence life at the University of Virginia at Wise; to get himself out of the office, he started coaching the cross country team. Somewhere along the way, he 鈥済ot the coaching bug鈥� and, before long, was looking around for full-time positions.
Then came the move to Hannibal, and then, when things fell into place at EMU, the Lewkowiczes made yet another long-distance move. Jason and his wife, Wendy, had two sons when they moved to Missouri. They had three when they moved to Virginia, and now, they have four between the ages of 1 and 10.
French-Jewish Holocaust heritage
Lewkowicz鈥檚 father was born in France to Jewish Holocaust survivors who later emigrated to America. His Cherokee biological mother left when he was 5, and Lewkowicz was later adopted by his father’s subsequent wife, whom he considers his mom. (His paternal grandparents eventually returned to France, and Lewkowicz spent many summers at their home on the Mediterranean coast.)
The family wasn鈥檛 religious. Lewkowicz discovered Christianity through an older sister and her husband. Before he was old enough to drive himself to church, he often spent Saturday nights at their place so he could accompany them to church the next morning. Eventually, he says with evident joy, his parents became believers. Now in Harrisonburg, he and his family have joined Aletheia Church, where Lewkowicz is involved in music on Sundays.
鈥淚 see this as a ministry,鈥� he says, of his coaching. 鈥淢y job is to show the love of God to my athletes.鈥�
Wrestling with questions
The Mennonite approach to Christianity was new to him. He has discovered pluses (singing, peacebuilding, working with the marginalized), yet he voices a desire 鈥渢o feel certain that Christ is always at the center of the university鈥檚 mission.鈥� He and his runners wrestle with these sorts of things sometimes on runs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 expect perfection,鈥� he adds, referring to the EMU community. 鈥淚鈥檓 not perfect.鈥� Overall, he feels the three years and counting that he鈥檚 been at EMU have been rewarding.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very interested in engaging in dialogue,鈥� says King. 鈥淚 really appreciate that about him.鈥�
Back to the whole excellence thing. In 2013, the women鈥檚 cross country team finished second in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship meet. The men were fourth.
Things are looking a little more excellent in the performance department. Sights are set on conference titles. And on the third Saturday in September, at the Shenandoah Valley Invitational, the women鈥檚 cross country team achieved the ultimate in cross country excellence: , earning a rare and perfect score of 15.
Editor’s note: Originally posted 10/03/14, this article was slightly revised on 10/07/14, with the concurrence of Jason Lewkowicz.