A Truett McConnell alumnus, Jarret Holland, is in his 12th year as Head Cross Country Coach for the Bears.
Holland is a native of Stone Mountain, Georgia, but attended Cherokee High School in Canton, Georgia, where he ran cross country and qualified for the state championship in 1997. Upon graduation, he attended Truett McConnell, where he ran on the school’s inaugural cross country team in 1998-99 and graduated with an Associate’s in Arts degree.
Holland continued his education at the University of Georgia, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, and then graduated with his Master’s and Specialist’s degrees in Education from Piedmont College.
Holland has amassed an unprecedented track record while at the helm for the Bears during his tenure at Truett McConnell, collecting 33 invitational championships, two men’s NJCAA Region XVII Conference titles (2006, 2008) and two women’s NJCAA Region XVII Conference titles (2005, 2006). He is also a four-time recipient of the JCAA Region XVII Coach of the Year award. During Truett McConnell’s inaugural year in the NAIA Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), Holland coached the men’s cross country team to a third place overall standing in the men’s conference. He also coached the fastest NAIA SSAC male freshman in 2012 and the first runner in school history to qualify for and compete in the NAIA National Championships, also in 2012. He’s had a runner represent Truett McConnell in the NAIA National Championships for the past three seasons in Vancouver, Washington (2012) and Lawrence, Kansas (2013 & 2014).
Holland’s tenure at Truett McConnell has also seen the school record in the men’s division be set at its current time of 25:01 by Luis Gonzalez in 2012. The Bears have been represented the past three seasons in the NAIA National Championships by Luis Gonzalez, as well. The school record in the women's division, 20:08 by Brittany Wells, was also set with Holland at helm for the Bears.
In the 2014 season, the men’s cross country team finished fourth in the AAC overall and had their top finisher, Luis Gonzalez, qualify for his third consecutive trip to the NAIA National Championships. The women claimed their first invitational victory in three seasons, dominating the field en route to grabbing the win at the Inaugural Reinhardt University Invitational.
Holland also planned and acquired corporate sponsorship from Saucony for the school’s first combined high school and college invitational in school history at Unicoi State Park in Helen, Georgia, in 2014. The event played host to over 20 teams, making it one of the largest races in the North Georgia area to date.
Holland’s goal for the Bears cross country team is to contend for a conference title and team birth in the NAIA National Championship Meet. Building relationships with collegiate athletes who share the thrill of competition is his favorite aspect of coaching.
Holland himself is still an avid runner and sports fan. He can be found on most weekends in the fall cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs and training for marathons. He most recently competed in the Rock and Roll Marathon in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Holland, his wife Kristin, and his daughter Layla Marie, welcomed the newest additions to their family in 2015 with the birth of their twin girls, Carolina and MaryBelle. The family resides in Buford, Georgia.
