HICKORY, N.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne Director of Athletics Kim Pate has announced that Kevin Paterson has accepted the position of head men's and women's cross country and track and field coach. Paterson comes to Hickory from Benedictine University in Illinois where he was named USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017 and developed the programs into national contenders. 
 
"I am excited for Kevin Paterson to join our Bears Family and take over the reins of our Track & Field and Cross Country programs," said Pate. "Kevin is a very talented hard-working coach and proven leader who understands how to build a championship contending culture. He is a great fit for LR as he truly embodies a commitment to the student-athlete experience and values the importance of preparing young people for success in life.  He brings tremendous passion and will infuse energy into the programs as we look to build on the momentum from recent success to position us to contend at the top of the South Atlantic Conference and the national level."
 
In his four-and-a-half years as the Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field coach at Benedictine, Paterson earned five Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Year awards and won eight NACC Championships including four indoor, three outdoor and one cross country. This past year, his men's team completed the conference triple crown by winning Conference Championships in Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, which was a first in program history. In total, he coached four NCAA National Champions as well as four NCAA National Runners Up, 22 All-Americans, 46 All-Region performers and 53 NCAA National Qualifiers. Additionally, he has led 258 runners to All-Conference honors, 93 NACC individual Conference Champs, and 72 NACC Scholar-Athletes. Paterson's Men's Outdoor Team has finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in each of the past two years along with top-10 finishes in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in 2017 and 2018.  The men's programs was ranked as high as third in the nation in Indoor Track & Field and fourth in Outdoor Track & Field. During his tenure, Paterson also developed the Benedictine Relays into one of the largest collegiate track and field invitationals in the Midwest.
 
Prior to his time at Benedictine, Paterson coached at Calumet College of St. Joseph (CCSJ) from 2012-15 where he was the 2014 CCAC Coach of the Year and led his programs to break 36 school records. Paterson developed the roster from five to 77 in less than three years.  In 2014, he led the Men's and Women's Cross Country programs to their best conference finishes and the Men's and Women's Track and Field teams tied for the best finish in program history that same season. During his time at CCSJ, the programs were recognized with All-Academic Honors on multiple occasions.
 
Paterson also held Assistant Coaching positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Bacone College and Indiana Tech.
 
"To have the opportunity to lead the Lenoir-Rhyne Track and Field/Cross Country program is a dream come true, I cannot thank Dr. Whitt and Kim Pate enough for trusting in me to lead these amazing young men and women," said Paterson. "From the very first conversation I knew right away LR was an incredibly special place with a culture of excellence in the classroom and on the track, and I couldn't be more excited to be involved with such special group of coaches and administrators whose focus is on the student-athlete. I truly feel both the men's and women's programs are on the cusp of competing for SAC championships and at the national level on a yearly basis. It's such a tremendous honor to be selected for this position, I am so excited for my family to become a bigger family at LR." 
 
Paterson is a native of Hobart, Indiana and earned his B.S. Degree in Management in 2009 from Calumet College of St. Joseph as well as his Masters of Science in Management in 2014. During his time at Calumet, Paterson competed as a track & field student-athlete and was responsible for setting eight program records and held the role of team captain for two years.