COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Following a three-year stint as an assistant coach, Maxwell Kuzara '17 was named head coach of the Saint John's University cross country program on Monday, Aug. 21. 

Kuzara (coo-ZAR-uh) replaces Tim Miles '76, who announced his retirement Aug. 9 following 44 seasons. Kuzara will continue to assist the Johnnies' track and field team, as well as serving the institution as the lead admission representative for SJU club sports.

He returned to SJU as a track assistant coach in January 2021, joined the cross country program that fall and also served as a resident director at Saint John's Preparatory School. Over the past academic year, Kuzara spearheaded an increase in enrollment for club sports, namely Nordic skiing and trapshooting.

"For me, this is the honor of a lifetime," Kuzara said. "In my eyes, and I'm sure many others, there could not be a bigger act to follow than Tim Miles. I consider myself, in Tim's words, the 'luckiest of the lucky' to have not only had Tim as a coach, but also to have had the opportunity to develop further as a coach under him in a place as special to me as Saint John's these last few years. I feel a tremendous amount of admiration and respect, and now a responsibility, for the tradition and program that Tim has built over the last 44 years, and I am beyond excited to work toward continuing its tremendous history of success and building upon the great things we have accomplished just recently. 

"I want to thank athletic director Bob Alpers for the opportunity, as well as Tim, Jeremy Karger-Gatzow, and the current SJU team members for their support along the way. I'd also like to thank Jeff Renlund, Steve Hoag and Jerry McNeal who, in addition to Tim and Jeremy, have served as mentors to me throughout my coaching and life journey. I'm also extremely grateful that Tim will be sticking around for the immediate future as a volunteer assistant and continue to give his time, wisdom and knowledge to the team on a daily basis. Lastly, this wouldn't be possible without the support of my family, my friends, and my wife, Manon."

Kuzara earned his bachelor's degree in global business leadership from SJU in 2017 and was an assistant coach at Minnetonka High School, his alma mater, for four years before returning to Collegeville. While coaching at Minnetonka, he also worked for three years in the endurance event world, organizing and putting on road races and mountain bike events all over the United States, including the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and Life Time Miami (Fla.) Marathon.

"I'm really pleased that Maxwell has accepted our offer to lead the SJU cross country program," SJU athletic director Bob Alpers '82 said. "No one will ever replace Tim Miles, but the amount of support for Maxwell from our current student-athletes and our alumni has been overwhelming. He has earned their trust and respect. 

"As Tim's assistant, Maxwell has worked with and helped recruit virtually everyone on the roster.  Maxwell is a good person, a strong and knowledgeable leader and the perfect person to lead our program."

A native of Excelsior, Minn., Kuzara (right) achieved All-MIAC honors with a third-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the 2016 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships and again five months later by taking eighth as a senior at the 2016 MIAC Cross Country Championship. He just missed All-MIAC honors (top three) with a fourth-place time in the 10,000 meters at the 2017 MIAC outdoor meet. The Johnnie cross country team placed second his junior and senior seasons (2015 and 2016).

"Maxwell lives and breathes Saint John's and our sport," Miles said. "He was wonderful as a student-athlete and as an assistant coach. I am ecstatic, and our team will be ecstatic, too. A sensational hire."

Miles' cross country program finished among the MIAC's top two squads in 25 of the 43 conference meets (no season in 2020 due to COVID-19), including nine MIAC titles (1981, 1982, 1983, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2006 and 2007). Twenty-two of his teams qualified for the national meet, with 17 recording top-15 finishes. Miles was a three-time MIAC Cross Country Coach of the Year (1997, 2006, 2007) and the Johnnies collected 18 All-America performances during his tenure.

The Johnnies begin the 2023 season by hosting the Toni St. Pierre (CSB '77) Invitational Sept. 8 at Boulder Ridge Golf Course in St. Cloud. SJU, which placed third at the 2021 MIAC Championship and second last fall, is expected to return four of its top-five runners from last season's squad that claimed seventh at the NCAA North Regional: senior Lloyd Young (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy), senior Tommy Allen (Woodbury, Minn./St. Paul Academy), senior Carter Grove (Osakis, Minn.) and junior Eamon Cavanaugh (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest). The top-eight finish at regionals was SJU's 37th in the last 41 years (going back to 1981). Young made his second-consecutive appearance at the NCAA Division III Championships and became the first Johnnie in 15 years (Chris Erichsen '08 in 2007) to earn All-America honors with a 40th-place finish last fall.