Track and Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- gjimmerson@liberty.edu
Greg Jimmerson, in his second season as a part of the Flames’ cross country and track and field coaching staff, has led the Liberty distance runners to some impressive accomplishments.
The most notable one was Josh McDougal becoming Liberty’s first cross country national champion in November 2007. McDougal has captured six of his 12 All-America distinctions, run a 3:57 mile and clocked a 13:20 5K under Jimmerson’s direction.
The Liberty men’s and women’s distance corps, as a unit, have excelled during the past two years. The Flames and Lady Flames have swept the Big South cross country team titles two-straight seasons. Additionally, both Liberty cross country squads recorded their best-ever finishes at the 2007 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. The men’s team placed fifth and the women’s team came in seventh.
Jimmerson came to the Flames after coaching at Northwestern University for a season, in 2005-06.
A Rapid City, S.D., native, Jimmerson enjoyed a standout career at Stanford University. In 1996, he led the Cardinal cross country team to the first NCAA title in program history, finishing as the top American runner with a fourth-place showing. He was awarded the Stanford Athletic Department’s “Most Competitive Athlete” title.
While at Stanford, Jimmerson gained some international racing experience. He competed in the 1994 World Junior Cross Country Championships. He won Junior National titles in the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters in 1995.
After graduating from Stanford with a degree in product design in 1998, Jimmerson trained for six years with the Nike Farm Team in Palo, Alto, Calif. He placed 11th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials. In 2001 and 2002, Jimmerson represented the United States at the World Cross Country Championships, running the 12K distance. In the 2001 event, he helped the American team win the bronze medal.
Jimmerson also competed at the 2004 Olympic Trials, running both the marathon and the 10,000 meters. He placed 12th in the 10,000-meter finals. Jimmerson owns personal bests of 8:31 (3,000-meter steeplechase), 13:38 (5K), 28:40 (10K) and 2:16:27 (marathon).
Jimmerson worked for five years as a mechanical engineer in the laser industry after graduating from Stanford. He joined Athletes in Action as a full-time campus minister at Stanford in 2003. The following year, he founded the ALTITUDE Project in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. The high-altitude running camp exists to develop collegiate distance runners to excel in competitive running and Christian living.
Jimmerson and his wife, the former Melanie Chan, live in the Lynchburg area. The couple was married in July 2007.
