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CONTACT INFORMATION John Kenneson, a seasoned coaching veteran enters his 26th season of Division I coaching and his fifth at Texas Christian University. At TCU, Kenneson oversees all throwing events, the pole vault, and the multi-event athletes. He also supervises the strength training for the throwing athletes. While coaching at TCU, he has guided the Horned Frogs to exceptional performances, including several school and Mountain West Conference records. In 2008, Kenneson guided Candis Kelley, who claimed her third-straight MWC indoor shot put title during the winter, to the women's shot title at the 81st annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Two weeks later, Kelley became only the second female in TCU history to win the title at the historic Penn Relays. Freshman Stormy Harrison won the women's shot put title at the conference outdoor meet with the second longest throw in Mountain West Conference Championship history. The Cisco natives throw of 52 feet, 2 ½ inches, set a new Lowdon Track and Field Complex record and marked the third-consecutive year TCU had won the event. Harrison, who recorded the longest-throw in the nation by an American freshman in 2008, crushed the school discus record by tossing 160 feet, 2 inches on her third throw to finish fifth overall in the event at the John Jacobs Invite. Harrison's toss broke Zelma Wade's throw of 157 feet, 11 inches set in 2005 Tommy Killen had another stellar 2008 season under Kenneson's tutiledge. During the indoor season, he placed third overall in the shot at the Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships. Killen had an amazing string during the outdoor season in which he won five of six competitions in the men's discus. At the John Jacobs Invite, Killen won the men's discus in Norman, tossing a career best mark of 192 feet, 10 inches, which was an NCAA regional qualifying mark. His throw broke Jordan Reynold's previous school record of 190 feet, 8 inches, set in 1990. Killen's toss was one inch off the Olympic Trials standard In the men's javelin under Kenneson's watch, senior Joe Brown closed his MWC career in winning-fashion, taking the title on his last attempt in competition. Overall, Brown blasted a throw of 221 feet, 7 inches to become only the second Horned Frog ever to win a conference crown in the javelin, and the first since Wes Ritchey won the Southwest Conference in 1954. At the Midwest Regional, Brown qualified for the NCAA Championships by crushing his own school record in the men's javelin. Brown, a senior from Overland Park, Kan., recorded a fifth-place finish by tossing the javelin 224 feet to break his previous school record of 222 feet, 5 inches set in 2006. Finally, Brown earned All-America honors by tossing the javelin 211 feet, 9 inches to place 10th overall at the NCAA Championships. By doing so Brown, who was named the 2008 Mountain West Conference Student-Athlete of the Year, became the first TCU athlete ever to be named an All-American in the javelin. The finish by Brown was also the best by a TCU javelin thrower at the NCAA Championships. Before last spring, Kenneson coached now senior shot putter Candis Kelley to five consecutive Mountain West titles. In the discus, Tommy Killen represented TCU at the NCAA Championships in 2006 and had the longest throw in the nation by any freshman with a toss of 189-11 (57.90). All three of these athletes have earned MWC Athlete of the week awards, while Killen and Brown also earned Academic All-America status in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Kenneson has spent the bulk of his career in the highly-competitive SEC. He came to Fort Worth from Lexington, Kentucky, where he served as an assistant track & field coach at the University of Kentucky for 11 of the past 12 years. While at UK, Kenneson coached his athletes to 23 All-America certificates, 28 school records and logged eight national top 20 finishes. Overall, his athletes have garnered 41 All-America certificates. His only previous stint outside the SEC came when he led the field and multi-events program for both men and women at North Carolina State University as an assistant coach from 1985-86. Kenneson compiled an impressive portfolio with two ACC men's team championships, 11 All- ACC women athletes and 13 All-ACC men's performances, while establishing 10 school records during his two-year tenure in Raleigh. Kenneson joined the staff at the University of Florida in 1986, holding the position of head field and multi-events coach. While at Florida he assembled one of the most competitive and productive field events programs in the history of the SEC and NCAA track & field. With shot putters Dwight Johnson and Matt Simson owning personal bests of 66-0 and 63-3, Russ Willett claiming a best discus throw of 197-11, Mike Holloway vaulting 18-8 3/4 and Dion Bentley long jumping 26-9, Kenneson's corps of field event athletes led the Gators to seven "Top Five" finishes in the NCAA Championships. With Kenneson on board, the Gators won the SEC Triple Crown (cross country, indoor and outdoor track) in both 1987 and 1988. During the 1991-92 seasons, three Kenneson-coached athletes teamed up to form the top three shot putters in the NCAA. Simson went on to win a silver medal at the World University Games in 1992. Another world-class athlete, Tom Pukstys, to whom Kenneson served as a personal coach, is a former American and current collegiate record holder in the javelin (273-3) and was a finalist at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Pukstys held the American record from 1994-2004 before Breaux Greer set the new mark with a throw of 287-8 in 2004. Kenneson joined the Kentucky staff in 1992 and began to build a nationally-regarded field events program from scratch. Two of Kentucky's All-Americans were U.S. Junior National Team members and another, Matt Kavanagh, was the gold medalist in the hammer throw at the 1997 Junior Pan America Games. He spent one year at Auburn University (1997-98) before returning to Kentucky the following year. While at Auburn in 1998, Kenneson helped Nakeitra Jones set the SEC women's high jump record with a leap of 6'-05". Under Kenneson's tutelage at Kentucky, Jeff Chakouian was the only collegian shot putter to reach the finals of the 2004 United States Olympic Trials. Chakouian was the UK record holder in the shot with a mark of 66-3, was the Southeast Regional champion and finished third at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Chakouian is also one of only three SEC athletes to ever win four consecutive SEC indoor titles. Chakouian was only beaten outdoors by current Olympians Reese Hoffa (Georgia) and Edis Elkavis (Auburn). Kenneson also coached Ildiko Varga, who placed seventh in the women's discus throw at the 2004 NCAA Championships. Kenneson is a member of the National Throws Coaches Association, and the NCAA Track Coaches Association. He is also a certified personal trainer. |
 
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