With the addition of cross country to Metro's roster of sports, come next fall the "Roadrunners" will be just that.

Last week, Athletic Director Joan McDermott named Peter Julian head coach of Metro's first men's and women's cross country teams.

"I'm really excited about the opportunity to create a winning program here at Metro State," Julian says. "I have full confidence that within a few years we'll be able to compete in the upper echelon of this conference."

The college's cross country program will start in the fall and will compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). The conference is a competitive one; RMAC teams have won the Division II National Championship in cross country for each of the past 15 years.

Julian brings a wealth of experience to his new position at Metro State, including a stint as assistant coach for the Regis University cross country team last fall. Other accomplishments include a bronze medal in the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada (10,000 meters); finalist status in the 1999 World Track and Field Championships in Seville, Spain (10,000 meters); membership on the United States World Cross Country Team (1997 to 1998); and nine years participation on Team Adidas America (1996-04).

Julian has also served as an assistant with the men's and women's cross country and track teams at Santa Clara University and as head cross country coach at Denver's Lincoln High School in 1995-96. He is a 1993 graduate of the University of Portland in Oregon.

The Metro athletic program is projected to grow by five new teams in the next two years. In addition to the new cross country teams to be added this fall, the Roadrunners will launch men's and women's track and a women's softball program in 2006-07.