Gretchen Kauth

Athlete Class of 1980

Gretchen came from a family of athletes with all 5 of her siblings involved in Southwest athletics. A 4 year letter winner in Track & Field and a 3 year letter winner in Volleyball, Gretchen excelled at SW. She was team captain for both sports her senior year.

In Track & Field she ran hurdles, long jump, triple jump, high jump and hurdle relays. She still holds the record for the 180 yard hurdles.

Parlaying the spring in her step and her leaping ability from Track & Field, she became a star on the volleyball court. Her senior year, she captained the 1979 team which was the Region 5 champion and semi-finalist in the state tournament. She was awarded All State that same senior year.

Gretchen continued playing volleyball in college. She was a 4 year letter winner at the University of Minnesota and Gopher captain her senior year. During her athletic tenure at the U, she was an outstanding student where she was a 3 year Patty Berg Academic award winner.

Gretchen graduated Minnesota with a B.S. in Nutrition/Dietetics. She received her Registered Dietitian (RD) credentials in 1986 and her Master’s Degree in Exercise Science from Bowling Green State University in 1993. She has been an RD for over 30 years and currently works as a sports dietitian for the Western Michigan University Athletic Department.

Gretchen met her husband Dave Morin at the U of M where he was a Gopher tennis player and is currently the Head Men’s Tennis Coach at Western Michigan. Not surprisingly, this athletic couple, have 2 daughters (Sophie 20 & Kayla 24) who were also both outstanding athletes.