Cornell College

Jerry Monner, the 2025 Midwest Conference Indoor Coach of the Year, was hired in July 2022 as head coach of Cornell's men's and women's track & field programs.

Since Monner's arrival in Mount Vernon, the Rams have produced 56 Midwest Conference champions, six MWC Performers of the Year, one Drake Relays champion, 34 all-region performers, 20 NCAA qualifiers and 14 All-Americans. Collectively, the men's and women's teams have established 35 school records since 2023. 

Monner's men's squad placed a program-best 10th at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships, led by 10000-meter champion Isaac vanWestrienen, who finished his track career as an eight-time all-American. Monner guided the men to the 2025 MWC indoor team title, marking the program's first such championship since 1989. 

On the women's side, Monner coached the Rams to a runner-up finish at 2023 MWC outdoors with 137 points, the program's largest point total since 1982. The 2026 women's team set a new school standard with 115 points at the 2026 MWC Indoor Championships.   
 
The Andrew, Iowa, native built Grand View University's cross country and track & field programs into an NAIA power from 2004-22. He claimed 31 Conference Coach of the Year awards with the Vikings and was tabbed 2022 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year for men’s indoor track & field. 
 
Monner reunited 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.
 
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’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 for several years.  
 
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.