Athletic Hall of Fame
Phil Kershner ’78 earned his BA in secondary education. He earned his MA in history from Loyola University in 1981 and his Masters of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis in 2001.
Kershner lettered four years in cross country and track and captained the track team for two seasons. Through 2011, Kershner holds Concordia track records for the 800-meter run indoors (2:01.3) and outdoors (1:54.1) along with the indoor 600 yards (1:19.0) and mile (4:21.3), and outdoor 880 yards (1:54.7). He also contributed to record-setting efforts in the sprint medley, distance medley and two-mile relays. Kershner was the Northern Illinois-Intercollegiate Conference champion four straight years (1975-78) in the 880 yards and scored seven consecutive victories in the event during the 1976 outdoor season. He was the 1978 champion in the one-mile run and the district champion in the half-mile (1:56.2) in 1976.
A member of the Dean’s List multiple times, he was the recipient of Concordia’s two most prestigious awards for student-athletes, the A.W. Gross Distinguished Senior-Scholar and the George Terry-John Schubert Memorial Christian Service awards. Kershner contributed to the campus community as president of the student government and as editor of The Spectator newspaper.
Kershner taught history and math while coaching cross country and track for 17 years at Lutheran High School South in St. Louis. He coached the cross country team to a Missouri class 3A second place finish in 1991 and third place in 1992 before leading Lutheran South to consecutive state championships in 1993 and 1994. Kershner was also on the coaching staff of Lutheran South’s third state title-winning team in 1997.
Since 2001, Kershner has served as pastor of Marine United Church of Christ in Marine, Illinois.
