Dec. 3, 2007

HONOLULU - George Mason men's track and field assistant coach Juli Henner was one of 12 recipients of the prestigious USA Track and Field (USATF) President's Award. The awards were announced at the USATF Annual Meeting, attended by 800 volunteers, officials, coaches, athletes and administrators last week at the Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii.

After opening the meeting with the annual President's Report, USATF President Bill Roe awarded the 12 President's Awards, recognizing those within the organization who have made unique contributions to the sport. Henner's name was included among a list of prominent figures in the sport of track and field, among them Frank Zarnowski, combined events statistician, announcer and spokesperson; Lauryn Williams, elite athlete, USATF budget committee member and 2006 Visa Humanitarian Athlete of the Year; Ron and Maryanne Daniel, race walk administrators, volunteers and officials; Don DeNoon, race director and organizer of the NACAC Cross Country Championships; Rex Harvey, IAAF Masters Committee delegate; Mary Watters, youth coach of the Springfield Striders (Illinois Association); Allen Johnson, USATF Board of Directors member, PAA Chair and elite athlete; Bill and Alma Jan Price, Potomac Valley Association volunteers and officials; Diane Wholey, collegiate coach and Team USA pool manager; The Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Half Marathon; Dick Courtney, Organizational Services Committee.

Entering her third season as an assistant coach at George Mason in 2007-08, Henner is a graduate of James Madison University, from which she earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's in sports administration. She ran for the Dukes from 1989 through 1992 and earned All-America honors at the 1992 NCAA Championships in the 1500-meter run. She won a silver medal in that event at the 1993 World University Games and repeated that performance in 1995. Henner placed second at the Olympic Trials in the event in 1996 but an injury she suffered prior to the games hampered her performance in Atlanta.

Henner became the head coach for the women's cross country team at James Madison in 1997 and led the Dukes to a CAA Championship that season, earning CAA Coach of the Year honors in the process. After several years away from coaching, Henner joined the staff at Georgetown, beginning with the 2000-01 season. She helped coach Treniere Clement to a runner-up performance in the 1500-meter run at the 2004 NCAA Championships and she coached Chris Lukezic, who was runner-up in that event at the 2005 USA Outdoor Championships. Lukezic also competed at the 2005 Outdoor World Championships, and was a member of the 2005 World Indoor Championships Team and 2005 U.S. Indoor Championships Team.

In addition to her work with Lukezic, now a graduate of Georgetown, Henner works with a couple of other post-collegiate athletes, including Sam Burley, who finished third in the 800-meter run at the U.S. Indoor Championships in 2005, and Kevin Sullivan, who set the Canadian national record in the 3000-meter run.