John Korhonen joins the Harvard cross country/track and fieldcoaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2007-08season. Korhonen will work with the Crimson, while pursuing amaster’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Korhonen comes to Cambridge after serving as an assistant coachat his alma mater, Massachusetts for one season. Korhonen alsoworked in the admissions office at UMass, a role he served in sincegraduating in 2006.
Korhonen was a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americanearning second-team honors in 2004-05 and third-team honors in2005-06. He was a four-year letterwinner on the track and crosscountry teams, a three-year drum major for the UMass Marching Band,and held a 3.95 grade point average in his communication major.
Just prior to graduation, Korhonen was named as one of 15 21stCentury Leaders by the University which recognizes students who areacademically accomplished and have contributed to the University byexceptional achievement or have enhanced the reputation of thecampus.
Athletically, he saved some of his best running for his lastseason as he became the all-time fastest miler in UMass historyduring the 2006 indoor season at the Boston University ValentineInvitational. His time of 4:04.26 is the fastest indoor mile timein school history breaking the previous 25-year standing record.Also during that indoor season, he earned second-team All-Atlantic10 honors in the 3,000 meters at the A-10 Indoor Championshipsposting the team's fastest time of the season.
The Gardner, Mass., native was twice named the UMass MaleScholar-Athlete of the Year (2004-05 & 2005-06) and was namedthe A-10 Indoor Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2004-05.
He is the co-founder of Enjoy Life Club Leadership Seminars andCoast 2 Coast Cycle 4 Hunger where he raised over $17,000 for theChildren’s Hunger Fund.
Korhonen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications fromUMass in 2006. He is a USATF Level I certified coach and a memberof the NEACAC (New England Association for College AdmissionsCounseling).
