University of Kansas Men's Track & Field

Bio Stanley Redwine is in his 25th season at the helm of the Kansas track & field and cross country programs during the 2024-25 seasons, making Redwine the l...

Track & FieldSkip AdWellman, BrianFinley, HonourFortenberry, NicHays, TomRedwine, StanleyReynolds, DougRichmond, RoseThornton, PaulWellman, BrianWhittlesey, Ph.D., Michael

Bio Doug Reynolds rejoined the Kansas track and field coaching staff in September 2022. Since returning, Reynolds has led a handful of athletes to new height...

Track & FieldSkip AdFinley, HonourFinley, HonourFortenberry, NicHays, TomRedwine, StanleyReynolds, DougRichmond, RoseThornton, PaulWellman, BrianWhittlesey, Ph.D., Michael

Michael Whittlesey is in his 17th season as an assistant coach for cross country and middle distance/distance running at Kansas. Throughout his career, guiding runners both on the trails and the track, Whittlesey has accumulated impressive numbers in big achievements, including 12 NCAA Champions, 100 All-Americans, 59 conference Champions (18 Big 12 Champions) 10 USA National Champions and three American records. The KU distance program has seen great success under Whittlesey’s tutelage, most recently during the 2025 track season where Whittlesey’s groups had significant success at the Big 12 Championships. Sophomore Emmah Jemutai won the 1500m in a new Kansas record time of 4:08.60 and finished third in the 800m, also setting the KU record 2:01.83. Jemutai also finished fourth in the Big 12 indoor mile. Junior Tanner Talley and sophomore Paul Ngasharr placed third and sixth for the men in the outdoor 1500m. Freshman standout Ebba Cronholm also finished third at the Big 12 Championships in the steeplechase and then set a new Jayhawk record in the event at the NCAA Championships in a mark of 9:46.53. Another recent Jayhawk standout under Whittlesey is Chandler Gibbens, who reset the KU records in the 10k, Indoor and Outdoor 5Ks. Gibbens won both events at the 2023 Outdoor Big 12 Championships, becoming the first Jayhawk to win both events in their career for the men’s program. In 2024 Gibbens went on to finish fifth at the NCAA Championships in the 10k, running 28:10.87 and pl

Bio Nic Fortenberry was named an assistant coach for track and field at Kansas in October 2022. He works primarily with sprints and hurdles. The Kansas sprin...

Paul Thornton is in his seventh season with the Kansas track & field program during the 2025-26 seasons after being hired in September of 2018 by head coach Stanley Redwine. Thornton serves as an assistant coach for the Jayhawk track & field squads where he works with the combined events athletes. In his first six seasons, Thornton has led the Jayhawks to success in the horizontal jumps and combined events with 11 All-American awards achieved, two Big 12 Conference individual champions (Alex Jung, outdoor decathlon and Cordell Tinch, 110-meter hurdles) and one Freshman of the Year in Tinch. Thornton guided Jung to an outstanding career at Kansas that consisted of the best performance in school history in the decathlon. At the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship Jung scored 7,746 points, placing seventh overall and breaking his own school record. Jung owns six of the school’s top-10 decathlon performances. In addition, Jung is the Kansas heptathlon record holder with 5,797 points as well as seven of the top-10 marks in school history. Andover, Kansas, native Taylor Klein looks to take over the combined events for Kansas with Jung’s graduation. The senior has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in each of his first three seasons as a Jayhawk in the decathlon. He has also earned a spot at the national meet in the long jump with a notable performance of 7.70m (25-3.25 ft.). He, too, owns three of the top-10 decathlon performances in school history.

Bio In the summer of 2013, Rose Richmond was named the Director of External Relations for Kansas track & field after spending the previous four seasons as a ...

Bio Tom Hays is in his 21st season as the vertical jumps coach at the University of Kansas. Hays is a familiar face to the KU track program, as he competed f...