Bernie Montoya
Coach
Bernie is the head cross country and distance track coach for Chandler High School. He has been a huge part of the success at Chandler and coached teams to 4 State Track and Field Championships.
Widely considered one of the best Arizona high school distance runners ever. He was the First student-athlete in Arizona prep history to win three state cross country titles following his 5,000-meter victory in 15:14.23 at the Arizona Division I State Championships before going on to finish 22nd at the Nike Cross Country nationals this past fall. In 2012, Montoya made headlines across the country as he won the prestigious adidas Dream Mile in New York. The races are run as a part of the Diamond League meet, the adidas Grand Prix. Both the Dream Mile and Dream 100 are invitation only races (selected by adidas) with the Mile featuring the 14 best athletes in the country on both the men`s and women`s sides.
Montoya shocked the field with his winning time of 4:01.32 to win the event, clocking the fastest time in United States junior class prep history and the ninth-fastest time in U.S. high school history, period. Montoya also holds the Arizona state two-mile record with his time of 8:48.25 at 3,200-meters. He finished his career at Cibola winning three titles at the Arizona High School State Championships with three individual titles, taking the 800-meter run in a time of 1:50.19, which would be a new record for the state of Arizona at any division, a record previously held by former ASU standout John Kline.
Coach Montoya has been a part of the foundation of Camp Elevate as a coach since year one. From his experience as a successful athlete to now coaching one of the top track and XC programs in the state Bernie brings a wealth of knowledge as a coach and has helped make Camp Elevate successful!