Kris Kut has been an assistant cross country and track and field coach and recruiting coordinator at The Citadel for 20 years. Along with head coach Jody Huddleston, Kut has watched from the sidelines as school records have fallen over and over again.
Kut, who focuses mainly on the throwers and sprinters, has helped coach the men crown 64 conference champions, 270 All-Southern Conference performers, and 20 NCAA qualifiers. The women have had seven conference champions, 43 All-SoCon performers and 4 NCAA qualifiers, including Stephanie McNeill, the school’s first woman to win a conference championship and the first female from The Citadel to qualify and compete in an NCAA championship event, as well as Micah Wessinger, the school’s first female runner to win a conference championship.
The 2020 season may have been cut short, but the Bulldogs still managed to make the most of the indoor season as the ‘Dogs collected six medals and set 17 personal records at the 2020 SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championships, including Kaeleigh Guth setting the program record in the women’s triple jump. Junior Sam Blumer took home the gold medal in the men’s pole vault with teammate Devin Merrick finishing second, Prince Howard-Whitaker claimed second in both the shot put and men’s 35-pound weight throw, Mya Dollard finished third in the women’s high jump, and Jacquary Bradford took home third in the men’s long jump.
During the 2020 campaign, the Bulldogs set nine program records, including four by freshman distance runner Sam Sharnas. Sharnas set the program freshman record in the 3,000-meter, 5,000-meter and mile races, and was also part of the men’s freshman distance medley relay (DMR) team, along with Andrew Smith, Kane Duncan and Aidan Richter that set the program freshman record in the event. Freshman distance runner Heidi Fortin set the women’s program freshman record in the mile, and the freshman men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Treonte Newton, Richter, Smith and Duncan set their own program freshman record.
The 2019 season saw seven Bulldogs crowned as conference champions. Twenty-two Bulldogs earned All-SoCon honors, while breaking 12 school records and 3 freshman records. The team was led by Josiah Johnson as he capped his career off with another 100-meter title, helped the 4x100-meter relay team retain their league title, and qualified for the Preliminary Rounds of the NCAA Championships. Kut coached two females to all-conference accolades with Jessy Page finishing third in the hammer and Shannon Ziccarello finishing third in the javelin.
The 2018 season added another chapter to the Bulldog success with over 20 school records and one Southern Conference record, nine conference champions, 24 all-conference athletes and a record number of points scored at the conference championship meet. Malik Diggs broke the Southern Conference and school record by winning the 110-meter hurdles, and also won the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x100 relay. Johnson won the 100-meter dash by breaking the school record and was on the 4x100 championship team. Both Diggs and Johnson qualified for the Preliminary Rounds of the NCAA Championships. Kut coached two women to all-conference accolades. Mady Riegel earned her third All-SoCon award with a second-place finish in the javelin, while Jessy Page finished third in the discus.
In 2017, Coach Kut was honored as an inductee into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame for his athletic career as a cadet-athlete. Derrick Freeland set The Citadel’s all-time record by taking first place at the Southern Conference Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw. For the women’s team, Riegel earned her second SoCon championship in the javelin after breaking the program’s all-time record with a heave of 143-0. Freeland and Riegel, along with seven other Bulldogs received all-conference honors. The Men’s team scored a record 132 points to earn third place overall at the Outdoor Conference Championship.
The 2016 season saw Capers Williamson compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, making him the first athlete from The Citadel to compete in the final round of the U.S. Olympic trials. Williamson, who finished eighth at the trials, set the program record for the furthest javelin throw when he took first place at the 2016 SoCon Outdoor Championship. In his final season at The Citadel, the Greer, South Carolina, native broke the program and Southern Conference records three times and became the first Bulldog to earn SoCon Field Athlete of the Month honors twice in the same campaign. Riegel also earned her first SoCon title in the javelin during the 2016 outdoor season as the pair swept the titles at the Southern Conference Championships.
In 2015, a total of 14 school records and six freshman records were achieved. One conference champion was crowned and 20 all-conference performances were also achieved. Leading the way was Williamson, who set a school and Southern Conference record with a toss of 219-5 to qualify for the NCAA championships for the second year in a row in the javelin. Clay Allen was the runner-up with a toss of 216-9 to help The Citadel finish 1-2 two years in a row and qualify for the NCAA championships for his second year in a row.
In 2014, a total of 20 school records were achieved by the men and women. Five conference champions were crowned, and The Citadel boasted 16 all-conference athletes. Leading the way was Jamaal Brantley, who established himself as the top sprinter in the SoCon with an indoor 60-meter and indoor and outdoor 200-meter titles. His two wins at the indoor meet earned him Track Athlete of the Meet honors.
Kut watched his own school record fall to both of his javelin throwers in 2014 as Allen threw 218-6 and Williamson threw 213-6. Allen and Williamson went 1-2 at the Conference Championship respectively and both qualified for the NCAA Preliminary round in Jacksonville, Fla. Williamson finished 13th overall, just one spot shy of punching his tickets to the finals in Eugene, Ore., while Allen finished 23rd. Eddie Jones also qualified for the meet after breaking the school’s long jump record from 1962, jumping 24-4.25 at the Tennessee Relays.
A native of Sparta, N.J., Kut recruited and coached standout field athlete Quintin Turner, who was a SoCon finalist 18 times during his four-year career with the Bulldogs. Turner racked up 64 points at conference meets, including 17 at the 2012 outdoor championships, placing in the discus, shot put and hammer.
In 2007 Kut guided McNeill to three league titles while coaching cadet-student-athletes to 27 All-SoCon honors. McNeill eventually earned four SoCon titles in her career. The women’s team posted a record fifth-place finish at the SoCon Outdoor Championships, while the men’s team placed fourth for the seventh time in eight years, maintaining their presence in the upper echelon of the conference.
Kut, a 2000 graduate of The Citadel, was a four-year letter winner at The Military College of South Carolina as he pursued his bachelor’s degree in political science. He remained at the school as he earned his master’s degree in health, exercise and sport science in 2003.
A three-time SoCon champion as a cadet-student-athlete, Kut also received four all-conference honors. He was the school record holder in the javelin until 2013 and was a junior national qualifier, competing in the 1997 Junior National Track and Field Meet in St. Louis, Mo.
As a senior, Kut finished seventh in the javelin at the prestigious Penn Relays as well as first at several other key meets.
Kut married the former Holly Jones of Mechanicsville, Va., in 2003. They currently reside in Charleston with their sons, Andre Jackson and Preston, and daughter, Ella Charlotte.
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