Mr. Julian Gonzalez joined the Montreat track & field program in March 2017 as an assistant coach. Coach Gonzalez joins the Cavalier program after a decorated career both as an athlete and a coach.
Coach Gonzalez has been involved in track & field for 31 years, starting in his native country Colombia, having a track record that helped him to obtain several national championships and represent his country seven times in international competition, After he graduated with a degree in physical education and sport, his love for sport and a call from the Lord to serve in another nation took him to Spain where he currently resides.Once in Spain, Coach Gonzalez began his calling as a track & field coach and developed a successful club program, with the help of his wife, Carmen Rodriguez.
Coach Gonzalez is a member of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation and has tremendous knowledge of technical skill and development in many track & field disciplines. This has allowed Coach Gonzalez to work with many athletes who have successfully competed in both domestic and international competition. In his 12 years as coach in Spain, Coach Gonzalez has more than 17 national titles in different categories and several of his athletes have represented the country in competitions such as the IAAF World Championships, European Championships, and the Spanish National Championships.
Some of his most outstanding achievements are:
* 1st place North Florida invitational (U.S.A) 2012
* 2nd place Sollentuna track and field meeting (SWE) 2013
* 1st place meeting of Karlstad (SWE) 2013
* Semi-finals European indoor championship Goteborg (SWE) 2013
* Finalist XVII world university games Kazan (RUS) 2013
* 1st place European Clubs Cup Vila Real de San Antonio (POR) 2014
* 4th place European Nation Championship Braunschweig (GER) 2014
Coach Gonzalez has had several athletes go on to compete in American universities with the following results:
* All American men and women in 60m hurdles at the NCAA DII indoor national championships 2015 (Birmingham Alabama)
* All American men in 110m hurdles and 4x100 Relay at the NCAA DII Outdoor national championships (Allendale, MI) 2015
* All American men in 110m hurdles at the NCAA DII outdoor national championships (Bradenton, FL) 2016
* 1 place Texas Relays 110m hurdles (Austin, TX) 2016
On coming to Montreat, Coach Gonzalez said, "First of all, I want to thank God for this valuable opportunity and to athletic director José Larios for thinking of me for this mission. Coach Jason Lewkowicz from the beginning has given me his help and affection so that my stay and my transition is the best possible. I would like to thank the whole family at Montreat for their warm welcome and my family that, although they are now far from home, they have not hesitated a second to let me move to North Carolina to come and continue with the great work that Coach Olinger had been performing In his first year as coach. It is a difficult situation for all but the best way to honor the impact that Coach Olinguer is making here with the athletes and what he is doing now to recover is to continue with his planned athletic program and give the best that each one has so that the hope and desire for improvement are always pointing to Coach"
On the arrival of Coach Gonzalez, Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Jason Lewkowicz said, "I am so grateful to have Coach Gonzalez with us for the remainder of the outdoor season. I was moved by his desire to uproot and come to work with our athletes as Coach Olinger recovers from his accident. Obviously Julian is a tremendous coach with a long history of success but it is his heart for the athletes and his understanding of the Christ-centered mission of Montreat that make him a great fit for us and we are very grateful that he is here."
Prior to coming to Montreat, Coach Gonzalez was with his family in Denton, Texas where his wife Carmen is conducting research in collaboration with North Texas University. Also in Texas is Coach Gonzalez's sons Esteban (11 years) and daughter Alexandra (10 years).
