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Pete Julian Position: Head Coach Cross Country

BORN: May 11, 1971
HOMETOWN: Ashland, Oregon
COLLEGE: University of Portland (B.S., 1993)
WIFE: Colleen Glyde Julian
CHILDREN: son, Wade (6 years)
COACHING EXPERIENCE: Metropolitan State College (Denver), 2005-09, men's and women's cross country head coach, 2007-09, men's and women's track and field head coach; Regis University (Denver), 2004, volunteer assistant cross country coach; recruiting coordinator; Santa Clara University, 2003, volunteer assistant cross country coach; recruiting coordinator
WSU APPOINTMENT: 2010 - Head Coach Cross Country; 2009 - Assistant cross country/track and field coach

Pete Julian was promoted to the head coach for Washington State cross country in the fall of 2010, one year after joining the Cougar track and cross country coaching staff following a highly successful career as a collegiate coach and professional athlete and coach. Julian coaches the men and women cross country teams in the fall and the middle distance and distance runners during the track and field seasons.

The 2010 cross country season found Julian leading a very young Cougars program with two-thirds of the runners either freshmen or sophomores. Frosh Ruby Roberts excelled in her collegiate debut, being the top WSU woman finisher in every race during the fall and broke the school freshman steeplechase record during the spring. Junior Justin Englund earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors with his 25th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional Championships.

During Julian's initial season of 2009, the WSU men's team placed seventh at the prestigious Pre-Nationals meet in Terre Haute and received a national ranking for the first time since 2003. The team finished a disappointing sixth at the Pac-10 Championships but the new training routine shows great promise for outstanding results during the 2010 winter and spring track and cross country seasons. Cougar senior Lisa Egami finished 11th at the 2009 NCAA West Regional Cross Country Championships and advanced to the NCAA Championships, the first time in four years a Cougar woman had competed at the national meet.

Julian came to WSU from Metropolitan State College of Denver where he served four seasons as the men's and women's cross country head coach and three seasons as the men's and women's track and field head coach. In 2008-09, he directed the Metro State men's teams to high finishes in the NCAA Div. II Championships: 10th in the Indoor, 16th in the Outdoor and 14th in Cross Country. The Roadrunners' women's cross country team placed 19th nationally last fall. Under Julian's tutelage, Metro State produced the national 2009 DII indoor and outdoor champion in the men's 800m, Anthony Luna, who ran a school record time of 1:47.90. During Julian's tenure Metro State garnered 11 NCAA All-America distance honors and 37 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors for sprints, jumps, distance and relays. The Metro State men's track team also received national academic honors from the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), finishing in the DII top 20 this year for team grade point average.

From 2005-08,Julian was the director of Tempo Sports, the official distance center of USA Track & Field, in Boulder, Colo., managing and coordinating the elite distance training group. In the summer of 2008, Julian was an assistant coach for the Nike Oregon Project where he assisted world-class athletes leading up to the 2008 Olympic Trials. In 2007 he served as the director of the USA Cross Country Championships and World Team Trials, also in Boulder.

An Oregon native, Julian graduated from Ashland High where he ran for his father, Bob Julian, on the Oregon state high school championship team. He earned four All-America certificates at the University of Portland: three in track and became the first Pilot in school history to earn one in cross country. After graduating with a degree in communications management, Julian spent over 10 years racing professionally in track and road races as a member of Team adidas. He was a member of the United States World Cross Country team in 1997 and 1998, running personal-best times of 3:42 in the 1500m, 13:33 in the 5000m, and 28:05 in the 10,000m. Julian captured the bronze medalist in the 10,000m at the 1999 Pan American Games, and was a finalist in the 10k at the IAAF World Championships in Seville, Spain, that same year.

Prior to Metro State, Julian was a volunteer assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the cross country programs and Santa Clara University and Regis University (Denver).

Julian is married to Colleen Glyde Julian, a former All-American distance runner at the University of Colorado who has a PhD in medical anthropology and is currently serving a fellowship with the Colorado Altitude Research Center in Denver, Colo. The Julians have a young son named Wade, in addition to their faithful canine companion Miles.