Nicholas Lara, one of the biggest names in NCAA Division II track & field history, joined MSU Denver as the head coach of the men's and women's cross country programs in August, 2019.
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Lara, who was a seven-time national champion and 13-time All-American at powerhouse Adams State, also serves as the Roadrunners' assistant coach in track & field, for both the men's and women's indoor and outdoor teams.
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Despite getting a late start to the 2019 season, Lara led the Roadrunners to strong seasons with finishes of fifth place (men) and seventh place (women) at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships and eighth (men) and sixth (women) at the South Central Regional. It was the best finish for the men at the RMAC meet since 2014 and at the regional meet since 2015. And, despite the strong showing, the MSU Denver women were snubbed in an attempt to qualify for the national meet for the second straight season.
But, individually, Alden Gruidel blossomed from a solid No. 3 runner for the MSU Denver women to an All-American under Lara's tutelage. Gruidel finished third, first, second and second in her first four meets (the last of which was the rugged Lewis Crossover), then placed sixth at the RMAC meet, eighth at the South Central Regional and 20th at the national championships. Gruidel's victory at the Colorado College Invitational was the first for the MSU Denver cross country runner since 2013. At the RMAC Championships, both Gruidel and the men's team's Jacob Link broke school-record times for 6 kilometers and 8 kilometers, respectively. Link's teammates, Sam Berg and Yonatan Kefle, also surpassed the previous school record. Those three all earned All-RMAC second team, while Gruidel was All-RMAC first team and All-South Central Region in addition to All-American.
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The MSU Denver men won the 2019 Roadrunner Invitational for the team's first meet championship since 2017.
Lara inherited an MSU Denver cross country program in which the women, who finished sixth in the RMAC, placed fifth in the regional in 2018 while qualifying for nationals for the first time since 2014. The men's program, meanwhile, finished seventh in the RMAC and 12th in the region.
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As a student-athlete, Lara's seven national titles included five individual crowns at 800 meters. Indoors, he won three 800 titles (2006 through 2008) and was a member of the 2006 and 2007 distance medley relay championship teams. He won outdoor titles at 800 meters in both 2005 and 2006.
Lara is a member of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association Hall of Fame, the RMAC All-Centennial team and is a member of Adams State's Athletic Hall of Fame.
He was named the National Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in the 2007 by the coaches' association, and he was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He is a 12-time RMAC champion.
After completing his athletic career at Adams State, Lara joined the coaching staff and helped the Grizzlies to national championships in both men's and women's cross country as well as men's indoor track & field.
Lara then joined the Division II Southern Connecticut State program. He was named the 2011 Division II East Region Assistant Coach of the Year, and helped the Owls place third at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships.
He relocated to Denver and then built the Johnson & Wales men's and women's track & field programs from scratch for the 2014-15 academic year as the program's first head coach. He had 16 athletes qualify for the NAIA National Championships in his three-year tenure.
In 2017, he co-founded Defiance Health, for which he is also the executive director. Defiance Health is a comprehensive medical, fitness and nutrition consulting company, which also actively coaches post-collegiate track & field athletes.
He graduated from Adams State with a bachelor's degree in human performance and physical education and later earned a master's degree in healthcare administration from Adams State in 2015.
