Natnael Amare was hired as the first head coach of the men and women’s cross country/track programs in January of 2010 and is now entering his 12th season (2021-22).
During his tenure at Texas Wesleyan he has coached 50 All-Conference selections, 15 NAIA All-Americans, and 16 NAIA Scholar-Athletes. His cross country teams have combined for four conference championships and five NAIA National Championship appearances while he was named Red River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times. The cross country programs have also produced three conference runner-up finishes. In a combined 20 seasons, the cross country teams have sent competitors to the NAIA National Championship 17 times. Similarly, the track & field programs have sent athletes to national competition 14 times.
Amare came to Texas Wesleyan from Northwood University where he built an impressive coaching resume. In six seasons at Northwood, Amare led the Knights to six Red River Athletic Conference Championships in men's cross country, six RRAC Championships in women's cross country, six runner-up finishes in women's track, and three runner-up finishes in men's track.
Amare has coached 36 individual and four team Men's Cross Country NAIA National qualifiers as well as 38 individual and five team Women's Cross Country NAIA National Qualifiers, and 36 individual Men's and Women's NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Track qualifiers. In total he has coached 149 RRAC individual champions, 15 NAIA All-Americans, and two NAIA individual runners-up.
A native of Eritrea, Africa, Amare came to the United States at the age of eleven. A product of North Clayton High School in Atlanta, GA, he went on to Northwood University where he became the school's most decorated athlete. Amare was a 20-time All-RRAC selection and 8-time RRAC individual champion in cross country and track. He was named RRAC MVP in 2001 after winning the 1500m, 3000m Steeplechase, 5K and 10K events. Amare was also a four-time All-Region selection in cross country, a five-time NAIA National qualifer, and three-time All-American selection (one in cross country, two in track). In 2000, Amare became Northwood's first National Champion in any event when he won the marathon at the NAIA National Outdoor Track meet with a time of 2:33:36.00. In 2011 he was inducted into the Northwood Athletic Hall of Fame.
Amare also gained international experience when he represented Eritrea in the 2003 IAFF World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Amare completed his degree in International Business at Northwood University in 2002. He currently resides in Arlington, TX.
