Following nearly two decades of building Grand View University into an NAIA power, Jerry Monner takes his talents to Mount Vernon as new head track & field coach of Cornell College’s men’s and women’s programs.
Monner replaces Michael Friess, who stepped down after one season in the head track & field role.
Monner, a native of Andrew, Iowa, experienced an impressive run of success leading Grand View’s cross country and track & field programs since 2004. He claimed 31 Conference Coach of the Year awards with the Vikings, and most recently was tabbed 2022 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year for men’s indoor track & field.
“We are very fortunate to have Coach Monner take the reins of our track & field program, and very excited for the future,” said Cornell Interim Director of Athletics Jeff Meeker. “Jerry’s record of success, his connections in the track & field community and understanding of how athletics fit into the overall student experience at Cornell make him an outstanding fit.”
Monner will reunite with Cornell’s head cross country and assistant track & field coach Jerry Frawley, who served as a graduate assistant under Monner for two seasons (2017-19) at Grand View.
“I’m excited about the opportunity, knowing Cornell has a strong tradition both academically and athletically,” Monner said. “I really like the cohesiveness Cornell has within its athletic department. I think it’s an exciting time to join the staff and help contribute to the future successes of the programs.”
Over 18 seasons, Grand View’s cross country and track & field teams compiled 405 NAIA individual national qualifiers, 92 all-Americans and 15 national champions under Monner’s direction. The Vikings also excelled in the classroom, earning 137 NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards.
Monner’s teams placed in the Top 25 at the national championships 25 times. Three of his cross country teams qualified for the NAIA Championships. Monner captured 33 conference team titles, four of them achieved in 2021-22 with men’s cross country, men’s indoor and outdoor track & field and women’s outdoor track & field.
In Fall 2021, Grand View’s men’s cross country team placed 18th at nationals and the Vikings fielded two NAIA qualifiers on the women’s side. Monner’s 2022 track & field teams accumulated 12 all-America awards, headlined by the national champion in the men’s outdoor 1500.
Monner plans to establish similar high standards with the NCAA Division III Rams, who won 15 Midwest Conference event titles during the 2022 men’s and women’s track & field seasons.
“Ultimately, Cornell’s programs have been competitive and I think a few years down the road we can be viewed as one of the top programs in the Midwest Conference on an annual basis,” Monner said. “We’ll work hard on getting many qualifiers to the NCAA Championships.”
Monner’s recruiting efforts produced large rosters for all of his teams at Grand View. The Vikings fielded 85-100 total student-athletes in cross country and track & field the past several years.
“Having coached in the state of Iowa for nearly the past 20 years, I have a lot of good connections with high school coaches throughout the state, along with club coaches at the AAU level,” Monner said. “We recruited Iowa heavily along with the surrounding states and nationwide. I think I can carry that into what Cornell has going on and increase our roster size.
“I always want a well-rounded program, recruiting in every event area. I see Cornell’s program as having quality coaches in place to help our student-athletes develop. I pride myself on building a true team, a true family-type atmosphere and that’s what I hope to bring to Cornell.”
Monner graduated from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management and physical education. He obtained his master’s in athletic administration from Loras in 2002.
Monner was head track & field coach and head women’s cross country coach at University of Minnesota-Morris from 2002-04. He guided the women’s program to its first-ever conference title in track & field in 2004. Monner was assistant track & field coach at Loras (2000-02) and Iowa Wesleyan (1999-2000).
Monner served on the executive committee of the NAIA Track & Field Coaches Association from 2011-19, including president for two years. He was previous cross country and track & field sport chair in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and Midwest Collegiate Conference.