Kennedy Kithuka (born June 4, 1989) was a Kenyan cross country and track runner for

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

under head coach

Wes Kittley Wes Kittley is the current head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field team. He has produced several national champions and Olympians in Sally Kipyego and Kennedy Kithuka. Career Abilene Christian, 1983-1999 Kittley was the women's ...

Career

High school

In 2007, Kennedy Kithuka ran
9:00

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

4:20

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

15:10

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

30:20

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

2010

Kithuka won NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships titles for

Wayland Baptist University Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, six ...

in the 10 km in 29:31.99 and 5 km in 13:56.82. Kithuka also took titles in the

Sooner Athletic Conference The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 sc ...

Championships 3 km Steeplechase and 5 km. Kithuka competed for

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

Outdoor Track and Field Championships while winning the 3 km in 8:08.53, was runner-up in the mile in 4:08.89, 4th place in the DMR in 10:03.29.

2011

Kithuka finished the NAIA national men's outdoor track and field championship for

with 8th place in the 10 km in 30:29.69, and 3rd place in the 5 km in 14:17.20. Kithuka's indoor season was highlighted with NAIA National Men's Indoor Track And Field Championship 5th-place finish in the 5 km in 14:30.95 and 10th-place finish in the DMR in 10:13.95.

2012

Kithuka won the 2012 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships 10 km in 29:35.85, 5 km in 14:04.72, and finished 2nd in the 1500 m in 3:46.72. He notched a personal record at the Mt SAC Relays in 28:18.97 where he was the runner-up and World Standard time in the 5k in 13:28.61. Kithuka's indoor season was capped off with NAIA Indoor Championships titles in the 3000 meters in 8:03.63, DMR in 9:51.31, while finishing 5th in the mile in 4:08.23. In 2012, Kithuka won the individual Big 12 champion, the

NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams a ...

, and was named the National Male Athlete of the Year for cross country.

2013

During the indoor, Kithuka won the Big 12 Conference 3,000 meters (7:53.72) and 5,000 meters (13:41.01) and NCAA Track and Field 5,000 meters championships (13:25.38). In 2013, Kithuka went undefeated and won the individual Big 12 Conference 8k Championship for a second time and only losing to Edward Cheserek of

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

at the

NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams a ...

2014

In 2014, Kithuka set personal best in both events: Kithuka would win the Big 12 Conference titles for both the 10k and 5k run. His track record performance during his 5k clinched the team Big 12 Conference title for Texas Tech. Kithuka also lead the 10 km and 5 km at NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and earned All-American in both events (8th - 13:34.91) & (4th - 28:46.21). Kennedy plans to finish his degree and remain in Lubbock, Texas training under his coach John Murray.

Coaching in 2014 & 2015

Kennedy Kithuka served as volunteer assistant coach at

; and guided men to (7th B12 and 14th NCAA Mtn) and women to (9th B12 and 12th NCAA Mtn) in 2014-15 as a 1st year assistant.

2016

Kennedy Kithuka is a part of Skechers performance Elite team. Kennedy is in the elite road -race April 3 at

Carlsbad 5000 The Carlsbad 5000 is an annual five kilometer (3.1 mile) road running event that takes place each spring in the city of Carlsbad, California along the north coast of San Diego County. Organization The event is organized by Groundwork Endurance, a ...

where Kithuka placed 12th in 14:12. Kithuka ran 14:26 at

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit, running-focused, organized sports association for the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Marathon, the ...

5 km on April 16 in Boston, Massachusetts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kithuka, Kennedy 1989 births Living people Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male steeplechase runners People from Kiambu County Texas Tech Red Raiders men's track and field athletes Texas Tech Red Raiders men's cross country runners