Team USA Minnesota Adds Two Athletes

Team USA Minnesota has added two recent college graduates to its stable of professional distance runners: Jon Grey and Matt Llano.

Grey is a 2011 graduate of William and Mary with a personal best of 28:40.33 in the 10,000-meters. Llano graduated in 2011 from the University of Richmond where he posted 28:43.30 for the distance.

Grey is from Lancaster, Penn., where he ran cross country and track at Kennard Dale High School setting school records of 4:18 in the 1600m, 9:11 in the 3200m, and 15:41 for a cross country 5K. At William and Mary, he posted times of 8:07.79 in the 3000m, 13:46 in the 5000m, along with his 10,000m best which he set in winning the 2010 Mt. SAC Relays. The three-time All American finished fifth at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships 5000m and 17th at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Llano went to Broadneck High School in Annapolis, Maryland, where he posted prep times of 4:24 in the 1600m and 9:44 in the 3200m, and helped lead his cross country team to a first place finish in both 2004 and 2005 at the Maryland State Cross Country Meet. At the University of Richmond, the All-American was ninth at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m, a four-time NCAA qualifier with two showings each in cross country and track, and he posted 14:00 in the 5000m. Llano was also a four-time Academic All-American and the Atlantic 10 Conference Male Student-Athlete of the Year.

“Jon and Matt are two of the top long distance runners to come out of college in 2011,” Dennis Barker, Team USA Minnesota coach said. “They both have great potential as professional runners. They have good range and will be able to compete well on the track, road, and cross country.”

Grey and Llano join a men's squad at Team USA Minnesota that includes Jason Lehmkuhle, Matt Gabrielson, Antonio Vega, Josh Moen, Andrew Carlson, and Chris Rombough.

Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis andSt. Paul. Formed in 2001, the training center strives to improve the competitiveness of post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians. The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head cross country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.