Staff Directory
Miltenberg, Chris
Chris Miltenberg
- Title:
- Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
Following seven years at Stanford University, Chris Miltenberg was named Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the University of North Carolina on June 27, 2019. The 2023-24 school year is his fifth at the Tar Heel helm.
After a first season that was successful despite pandemic disruptions, Carolina made great strides over the past three seasons.
The 2022-23 cross country season will go down as one of the best in program history both teams finished in the Top 10 at the NCAA Championships with the women claiming fifth place and the men placing 10th. Parker Wolfe was named the USTFCCCA Men's Southeast Regional Athlete of the Year and became the first UNC cross country athlete (male or female) to earn ACC Runner of the Year honors.
Seven Tar Heels earned All-America track and field accolades under Miltenberg's direction in 2023, including first-team honorees Wolfe (5,000m) and Jesse Hunt (1,500m). The UNC men's cross country and track and field programs combined to finish 12th nationally in the 2022-23 USTFCCCA Men's Program of the Year Standings.
In 2021-22, Carolina sent both men's and women's teams to the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the first time since 2014. UNC also earned its highest ACC finishes since that season, with the women’s team second overall and the men’s team fourth. The Tar Heels swept the conference Freshman of the Year awards for the first time in program history, with Brynn Brown winning the women’s award and Parker Wolfe taking the men’s.
At the NCAA Championships, Wolfe earned All-America honors and led the men’s team to 18th place. The women’s team was 14th for the second year in a row. Will Coogan became the first Tar Heel to win the NCAA Elite 90 Award for men’s cross country.
During the 2022 indoor season, four Tar Heels won ACC titles – Taryn Parks in the women's mile, Anna Keefer in the women's long jump, Daniel McArthur in the men’s shot put and Isaiah Palmer in the men's 200 meters. The men’s team placed fourth at ACC Championships and the women’s team was sixth, up three spots from the previous year. Anna Keefer went on to earn first-team All-America honors in the long jump and second-team honors in the 200 meters. Jill Shippee earned second-team honors in the weight throw.
In the 2022 outdoor season, seven Tar Heels punched tickets to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., with Madison Wiltrout taking bronze in women’s javelin and Alex Ostberg placing eighth in the men’s 5,000 meters. Three others earned second-team honors and two were honorable mention.
Eighteen Tar Heels and a relay team earned All-ACC honors, and both Wiltrout and Jill Shippee (women’s hammer) won gold medals at ACC Championships.
Carolina set 13 program records – seven in indoors and six in outdoors – during the 2022 season.
In 2020-21, UNC finished 14th at the NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships, the program’s best showing since 2010, and 18th at NCAA Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships, the highest since 2002.
Eight Tar Heels earned first-team All-America honors and seven others were either second-team or honorable mention.
In the 2021 outdoor season, Miltenberg’s first with the Tar Heels after the 2020 season was canceled, UNC sent a program-record 41 competitors to the NCAA First Round in Jacksonville, Fla. Carolina’s 26 entries on the men’s side marked the most for any program in the East Region. Seven Tar Heels advanced to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., with Jill Shippee earning bronze in the women’s hammer with an ACC-record throw.
Overall, 24 Tar Heels medaled at ACC Indoor or Outdoor Championships. At Indoors, UNC took first in men’s shot put (Daniel McArthur, who also was named meet MVP), men’s mile (Brandon Tubby) and the men’s 4x400. At Outdoors, Shippee took first in women’s hammer.
On the academic side, 14 Tar Heels earned All-ACC Academic honors in 2020-21 and 18 were named USTFCCCA All-Academic. Forty Tar Heels from the cross country and track & field teams were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Senior Paige Hofstad was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and three team members – Lindsey Lanier, Camryn Petit and Emerson Porter – were honored with the Top 10 Scholar-Athlete Award, recognizing them among the top 10 grade point averages among graduating student-athletes.
In 2019-20, despite the cancelation of the NCAA Indoor Championships as well as the entirety of the outdoor season, Miltenberg’s cross country and indoor track teams combined for two All-America, one All-Region, 11 All-ACC and five Academic All-ACC honors in as well as two ACC individual titles, a championship meet record and two school records.
Miltenberg came to UNC after an outstanding run at Stanford. The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Stanford men’s track and field/cross country the John McDonnell Division I Program of the Year in 2019. The USTFCCCA named the women’s teams the Terry Crawford Division I Program of the Year in 2018. These are awarded to the most outstanding cross country/track and field programs that achieved the most success in a given year and are based on a school’s finish in the NCAA Championships in those three sports.
“Chris has a proven record of building track and field and cross country programs into national contenders, and his dedication to student-athlete success goes well beyond competition,” UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham upon Miltenberg’s hiring. “He knows how to inspire, motivate, teach and lead, and he will be an outstanding addition to our family of champion coaches, our department and our University.”
In addition to seven years at the helm at Stanford, Miltenberg was the head women’s cross country coach and associate head coach for track and field at Georgetown for five years (2007-12) and an assistant/associate cross country and track and field coach at Columbia from 2004-07.
He led the Hoyas to an NCAA women’s cross country championship in 2011 and was named the 2011 National Coach of the Year.
In 2018-19, Stanford placed fifth at both the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, fourth and fifth at the NCAA Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, respectively, and fifth and 10th at the NCAA Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, respectively.
His teams have earned 10 podium finishes in NCAA Championship competition – Stanford men’s cross country had four, women’s cross country had two, women’s outdoor track had one and men’s indoor track had one and Georgetown women’s cross country had two.
Stanford had nine NCAA top-five finishes in cross country (five consecutive for the men from 2014-18) and a dozen NCAA top-10 performances in track and field during his tenure. The men’s fourth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Indoor T&F Championship was Stanford’s highest since 2007; the men’s fifth-place effort at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championship was the school’s best since 2001; and the women’s third-place showing outdoors in 2018 was just two points out of first place and was the Cardinal’s best since 1984.
The Cardinal won the Pac-12 men’s cross country title in 2017 and 2018, earning him conference coach-of-the-year honors in both seasons.
He coached seven individual national champions and one NCAA relay champion in track and field at Stanford and an individual national champion at Georgetown (plus 22 individual second-place finishers). His student-athletes have earned numerous All-America honors – 30 in cross country and 123 first-team All-America track and field athletes at Stanford, eight in cross country and 36 in track and field at Georgetown and nine at Columbia.
Stanford individuals also won four Pac-12 cross country titles, 27 Pac-12 track and field titles, four U.S. junior championships, had 63 NCAA track and field top-five performances, six top-10 NCAA cross country finishes and set 22 school records in track and field. They set U.S. junior and American indoor collegiate records.
A selection of his outstanding performers include Stanford’s Grant Fisher (2017 NCAA champion in the 5000), Sean McGorty (2018 NCAA champion in the 5000), Harrison Williams (21019 NCAA champion in the heptathlon), MacKenzie Little (2018 and 2019 NCAA champion in the javelin) and Georgetown’s Emily Infeld (2012 NCAA champion in the 3000).
His student-athletes also succeeded academically at Stanford as he coached three USTFCCCA National Cross Country Scholar-Athletes of the Year, three Pac-12 Cross Country Scholar-Athletes of the Year, two USTFCCCA National Track and Field Scholar-Athletes of the Year, 149 USTFCCCA All-Academic team selections and a Rhodes Scholar. The men’s cross country team was the USTFCCCA’s Academic Team of the Year in 2014.
He won NCAA West Region Coach of the Year honors in cross country in 2013 and 2016 and 2019 in indoor track and field.
At Georgetown, in addition to winning the national title in 2011, the Hoyas were fourth at nationals in cross country in 2010 and won a Big East women’s indoor track and field title in 2012.
Miltenberg is a 2003 graduate of Georgetown. He earned a master’s in applied psychology from Columbia in 2005. He captained the Hoyas’ track and field/cross country team for two seasons, and was a two-time All-America and three-time Academic All-America. He placed fourth in the NCAA Championship in the 3000 meters and distance medley relay in 2001, was Big East champion in the indoor mile that year, and led the Hoyas to four Big East titles.
The Huntington, N.Y., native is married to the former Colleen Kelly, who earned All-America track honors at Georgetown. They have four children: Annie, Caitlin, Kevin and Maggie.
After a first season that was successful despite pandemic disruptions, Carolina made great strides over the past three seasons.
The 2022-23 cross country season will go down as one of the best in program history both teams finished in the Top 10 at the NCAA Championships with the women claiming fifth place and the men placing 10th. Parker Wolfe was named the USTFCCCA Men's Southeast Regional Athlete of the Year and became the first UNC cross country athlete (male or female) to earn ACC Runner of the Year honors.
Seven Tar Heels earned All-America track and field accolades under Miltenberg's direction in 2023, including first-team honorees Wolfe (5,000m) and Jesse Hunt (1,500m). The UNC men's cross country and track and field programs combined to finish 12th nationally in the 2022-23 USTFCCCA Men's Program of the Year Standings.
In 2021-22, Carolina sent both men's and women's teams to the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the first time since 2014. UNC also earned its highest ACC finishes since that season, with the women’s team second overall and the men’s team fourth. The Tar Heels swept the conference Freshman of the Year awards for the first time in program history, with Brynn Brown winning the women’s award and Parker Wolfe taking the men’s.
At the NCAA Championships, Wolfe earned All-America honors and led the men’s team to 18th place. The women’s team was 14th for the second year in a row. Will Coogan became the first Tar Heel to win the NCAA Elite 90 Award for men’s cross country.
During the 2022 indoor season, four Tar Heels won ACC titles – Taryn Parks in the women's mile, Anna Keefer in the women's long jump, Daniel McArthur in the men’s shot put and Isaiah Palmer in the men's 200 meters. The men’s team placed fourth at ACC Championships and the women’s team was sixth, up three spots from the previous year. Anna Keefer went on to earn first-team All-America honors in the long jump and second-team honors in the 200 meters. Jill Shippee earned second-team honors in the weight throw.
In the 2022 outdoor season, seven Tar Heels punched tickets to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., with Madison Wiltrout taking bronze in women’s javelin and Alex Ostberg placing eighth in the men’s 5,000 meters. Three others earned second-team honors and two were honorable mention.
Eighteen Tar Heels and a relay team earned All-ACC honors, and both Wiltrout and Jill Shippee (women’s hammer) won gold medals at ACC Championships.
Carolina set 13 program records – seven in indoors and six in outdoors – during the 2022 season.
In 2020-21, UNC finished 14th at the NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships, the program’s best showing since 2010, and 18th at NCAA Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships, the highest since 2002.
Eight Tar Heels earned first-team All-America honors and seven others were either second-team or honorable mention.
In the 2021 outdoor season, Miltenberg’s first with the Tar Heels after the 2020 season was canceled, UNC sent a program-record 41 competitors to the NCAA First Round in Jacksonville, Fla. Carolina’s 26 entries on the men’s side marked the most for any program in the East Region. Seven Tar Heels advanced to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., with Jill Shippee earning bronze in the women’s hammer with an ACC-record throw.
Overall, 24 Tar Heels medaled at ACC Indoor or Outdoor Championships. At Indoors, UNC took first in men’s shot put (Daniel McArthur, who also was named meet MVP), men’s mile (Brandon Tubby) and the men’s 4x400. At Outdoors, Shippee took first in women’s hammer.
On the academic side, 14 Tar Heels earned All-ACC Academic honors in 2020-21 and 18 were named USTFCCCA All-Academic. Forty Tar Heels from the cross country and track & field teams were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Senior Paige Hofstad was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and three team members – Lindsey Lanier, Camryn Petit and Emerson Porter – were honored with the Top 10 Scholar-Athlete Award, recognizing them among the top 10 grade point averages among graduating student-athletes.
In 2019-20, despite the cancelation of the NCAA Indoor Championships as well as the entirety of the outdoor season, Miltenberg’s cross country and indoor track teams combined for two All-America, one All-Region, 11 All-ACC and five Academic All-ACC honors in as well as two ACC individual titles, a championship meet record and two school records.
Miltenberg came to UNC after an outstanding run at Stanford. The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Stanford men’s track and field/cross country the John McDonnell Division I Program of the Year in 2019. The USTFCCCA named the women’s teams the Terry Crawford Division I Program of the Year in 2018. These are awarded to the most outstanding cross country/track and field programs that achieved the most success in a given year and are based on a school’s finish in the NCAA Championships in those three sports.
“Chris has a proven record of building track and field and cross country programs into national contenders, and his dedication to student-athlete success goes well beyond competition,” UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham upon Miltenberg’s hiring. “He knows how to inspire, motivate, teach and lead, and he will be an outstanding addition to our family of champion coaches, our department and our University.”
In addition to seven years at the helm at Stanford, Miltenberg was the head women’s cross country coach and associate head coach for track and field at Georgetown for five years (2007-12) and an assistant/associate cross country and track and field coach at Columbia from 2004-07.
He led the Hoyas to an NCAA women’s cross country championship in 2011 and was named the 2011 National Coach of the Year.
In 2018-19, Stanford placed fifth at both the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, fourth and fifth at the NCAA Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, respectively, and fifth and 10th at the NCAA Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, respectively.
His teams have earned 10 podium finishes in NCAA Championship competition – Stanford men’s cross country had four, women’s cross country had two, women’s outdoor track had one and men’s indoor track had one and Georgetown women’s cross country had two.
Stanford had nine NCAA top-five finishes in cross country (five consecutive for the men from 2014-18) and a dozen NCAA top-10 performances in track and field during his tenure. The men’s fourth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Indoor T&F Championship was Stanford’s highest since 2007; the men’s fifth-place effort at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championship was the school’s best since 2001; and the women’s third-place showing outdoors in 2018 was just two points out of first place and was the Cardinal’s best since 1984.
The Cardinal won the Pac-12 men’s cross country title in 2017 and 2018, earning him conference coach-of-the-year honors in both seasons.
He coached seven individual national champions and one NCAA relay champion in track and field at Stanford and an individual national champion at Georgetown (plus 22 individual second-place finishers). His student-athletes have earned numerous All-America honors – 30 in cross country and 123 first-team All-America track and field athletes at Stanford, eight in cross country and 36 in track and field at Georgetown and nine at Columbia.
Stanford individuals also won four Pac-12 cross country titles, 27 Pac-12 track and field titles, four U.S. junior championships, had 63 NCAA track and field top-five performances, six top-10 NCAA cross country finishes and set 22 school records in track and field. They set U.S. junior and American indoor collegiate records.
A selection of his outstanding performers include Stanford’s Grant Fisher (2017 NCAA champion in the 5000), Sean McGorty (2018 NCAA champion in the 5000), Harrison Williams (21019 NCAA champion in the heptathlon), MacKenzie Little (2018 and 2019 NCAA champion in the javelin) and Georgetown’s Emily Infeld (2012 NCAA champion in the 3000).
His student-athletes also succeeded academically at Stanford as he coached three USTFCCCA National Cross Country Scholar-Athletes of the Year, three Pac-12 Cross Country Scholar-Athletes of the Year, two USTFCCCA National Track and Field Scholar-Athletes of the Year, 149 USTFCCCA All-Academic team selections and a Rhodes Scholar. The men’s cross country team was the USTFCCCA’s Academic Team of the Year in 2014.
He won NCAA West Region Coach of the Year honors in cross country in 2013 and 2016 and 2019 in indoor track and field.
At Georgetown, in addition to winning the national title in 2011, the Hoyas were fourth at nationals in cross country in 2010 and won a Big East women’s indoor track and field title in 2012.
Miltenberg is a 2003 graduate of Georgetown. He earned a master’s in applied psychology from Columbia in 2005. He captained the Hoyas’ track and field/cross country team for two seasons, and was a two-time All-America and three-time Academic All-America. He placed fourth in the NCAA Championship in the 3000 meters and distance medley relay in 2001, was Big East champion in the indoor mile that year, and led the Hoyas to four Big East titles.
The Huntington, N.Y., native is married to the former Colleen Kelly, who earned All-America track honors at Georgetown. They have four children: Annie, Caitlin, Kevin and Maggie.