Bio

Jake Holt has been hired as the cross country coach to head up the men’s and women’s programs starting in the fall of 2022. Coach Holt arrives on the Crowder campus after coaching and teaching English at East Newton High School for the past 21 years. Holt is a 2000 graduate of Missouri Southern State University and received his Master’s in Educational Administration in 2005.

During Holt’s tenure as both an assistant cross country/track and field coach and eventually as the head coach of both sports, his teams have won a combined total of 17 conference championships and 17 district championships. In addition, Holt’s teams have secured 6 Missouri state trophies. Holt’s athletes have been named Missouri All-State nearly 50 times on the track and 26 times in cross country while earning countless individual conference, district, and sectional championships. In addition, Holt’s 4x800 meter relay teams were State Champions in 2015, 2019, and 2021.

Jake Holt is also the founder and director of one of the largest running camps in the United States (SWMO Running Camp). Since 2008, this organization has grown from just over 50 campers in year one to two camp sessions which see close to 450 campers, coaches, and college runners from all of the United States each year. SWMO Running Camp has helped lead to an explosion of success among the schools in Southwest Missouri and beyond.

Coach Holt, who resides in Neosho, is married to his beautiful bride Allisa. They have two children, Bree Freeman and Kaden Holt. In addition, they have three wonderful grandchildren: Jordi, Brixton, and Harper.

“I am extremely thankful and blessed to be entrusted with this incredible opportunity. I have been dreaming of starting a cross country program here at Crowder College for at least the past ten years and now that reality has come to fruition. The idea of building a winning and sustainable program from the ground up is something I don’t take lightly and am both humbled and honored to be granted this privilege.”

If you are interested in participating in men's or women's cross country, please email Coach Jake Holt.