Bio

Christopher Lawrence enters his second year as head coach of the Marion Military Institute (MMI) men's and women's cross country teams.  In addition to his cross country duties, Lawrence also serves as the assistant athletic director.

The 2017-18 men's and women's teams captured the school's first ACCC/NJCAA Region 22 title and earned them a berth in the NJCAA National Tournament.  Besides coaching the ACCC's Top Runner in both the men's and women's division, Lawrence was named the ACCC Coach of the Year for both squads.

As a volunteer coach/graduate assistant with the University of Alabama men's cross country team from 2008-2011, Lawrence helped guide the Crimson Tide to three NCAA South Region Titles and two SEC Championships.  During that time, he also assisted with the track and field program, training two-time 400m National Champion Kirani James and 800m Indoor Champion Fred Samoei.

Other prominent coaching experiences included work as a personal trainer with Javier Arenas, a former All-American football player for the University of Alabama, and as a volunteer sprint coach and manager for Kirani James.  A key contributor to Arenas' remarkable improvement in the 40-yard dash from 4.79 seconds to 4.52, Lawrence enabled Arenas to improve his NFL draft status from late 3rd to mid-2nd round.  Under Lawrence's tutelage, Kirani James medaled in two Olympics, receiving the Gold medal in 2012 and the Silver medal in 2016.

Other coaching stops include Marygrove College (MI) and Holy Spirit High School (AL).  At Marygrove, Lawrence served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for both the cross country and track and field teams.  While at Holy Spirit HS, he taught Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, and Weight Training, while helping coach the football and track teams.  Under his guidance Holy Spirit claimed the AHSAA 2A State Track Championships in the 100m, 200m, long jump, and triple jump.

In addition to his cross country duties, Coach Lawrence also serves as the assistant athletic director.

A native of San Diego, CA, Lawrence received his Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and his Master's in Sports Management, both from the University of Alabama.