Lisa Montgomery joined the Titan staff in the summer of 2012 as an assistant cross country and track & field coach and will be in her second season with UDM for the 2013-14 campaign.
“We are excited to have Lisa join the Titan staff,” said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Guy Murray. “Lisa has some great competitive experiences and has enjoyed the training process balancing with the academic demands, which is a must for any successful collegiate runner. Lisa will help our team as we strive to improve and compete on a high level."
In her first year working with the women’s cross country team, Montgomery helped Detroit post its highest place since 2001 at the Horizon League Championships by claiming fourth place. The 132 points were also the fewest at the conference race since it had 132 in 2004, while the Titans' 28th-place performance at the NCAA Regionals was also their best finish since 2004. In addition, two Titans were in the top 20 at the HL Championships, including Louisa Coppola’s fifth-place effort to earn All-League First Team Honors and the highest place by a Titan harrier since 2005.
Montgomery came to UDM after serving as an assistant coach for Novi High School in 2012. At Novi, she worked with the men’s and women’s distance runners coordinating practice schedules and workout routines. She also assisted with the sprint group.
A former harrier at the University of Michigan, Montgomery earned letters in both cross country and track for the Wolverines. During her collegiate career, she qualified for the NCAA Division I National Cross Country meet as well as the Big Ten Cross Country and Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships. As a senior, she helped Michigan to a NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship taking 40th overall in the event.
Off the course, she was a University of Michigan Scholar Athlete and her teams were four time recipients of the University of Michigan Leaders and Best Award for Highest Team GPA.
A local product from Livonia, she attended Stevenson High School and was All-State in cross country as a freshman and was a state qualifier in all four of her years in cross country and track. She was also a two-time regional champion and an All-Conference and All-Region performer in both cross country and track, and is still part of the school record 4x400-meter relay.
She graduated from Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in History of Art in 2009 and added an associate’s degree in Graphic and Web Design from Schoolcraft College in 2011.
