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Chris Rengifo

Chris Rengifo

 Chris Rengifo has been named head coach of the Kennesaw State cross country program, Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Andy Eggerth announced on Wednesday (Mar. 18).

"Chris is a great addition to our staff," Eggerth said.  "He comes from a top 25 national cross country program at Eastern Kentucky, so he knows how to be successful.  I'm looking forward to that success infiltrating our distance programs."

In addition to his duties as cross country coach, Rengifo will coach the distance group for the men's and women's indoor and outdoor track teams.

"I am honored to be the new head cross country/assistant track and field coach at Kennesaw State University," Rengifo said. "I want to thank Andy Eggerth, Vaughn Williams and the whole athletics staff for bringing me to this amazing program.  My main focus is to have this team to be successful at the conference level in cross country and then work our way up to be the best team we can be in the future.  The future is very bright for this program and I am looking forward to getting started."

After serving as a graduate assistant for two years, the native of Woodbridge, Ontario became an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky in 2013 and was a key factor in the success of the EKU cross country and track and field teams.

During the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Rengifo helped lead the EKU men's cross country team to consecutive Ohio Valley Conference (OVS) titles, first NCAA Southeast Region title and two Top 25 NCAA Championships appearances, including a 15th place finish in 2013, the highest finish in program history.

Rengifo also helped two Colonels, senior Soufiane Bouchikhi and junior Ole Hesselbjerg, reach the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. Hesselbjerg finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best time of 8:38.75 to become EKU's first NCAA track medalist since 2008.

Academic success has also been at the forefront of the EKU cross country and track and field program since Rengifo joined the staff. Junior Thijs Nijhuis was named to the prestigious USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team in 2013, while junior Ann Eason was named a second team Capital One Academic All-America for 2013-14.

Rengifo competed at Eastern Kentucky from 2007-10 and was a three-time All-OVC country runner. As a senior in 2009, he finished fifth overall at the OVC Cross Country Championships and helped lead the Colonials to their fourth consecutive conference title. He also won the men's 1,500 meters at the 2010 OVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships and was a member of the 4xmile relay team that set an EKU record at the 2008 Penn Relays with a time of 16:39.47.