Longtime UTEP Track And Field Coach Bob Kitchens To Retire
Longtime UTEP track and field head coach Bob Kitchens will retire following the 2010 outdoor season after 22 successful years at the helm of the Miners program, UTEP officials announced Tuesday afternoon.
Kitchens has coached at UTEP since 1988. The Plainview, Texas, native, Kitchens began his coaching career at West Texas A&M in 1968 where he served until 1979.
Kitchens retirement will mark the end of a 42-year old career in which he orchestrated 24 national champions, 258 All-Americans, 18 conference titles and 622 conference champions beginning at West Texas A&M, then Mississippi State and finally at UTEP.
?The name Bob Kitchens is world-renowned and widely respected among the track and field circuit,? Director of Athletics Bob Stull said in a news release. ?The amount of success Coach Kitchens has had on and off the field isn?t limited by the number of All-Americans and championships. He has done an outstanding job of not only continuing and adding to the tradition of athletic excellence, but he has built his own legacy within this university.?
Kitchens has coached over 30 Olympians during his coaching career, most recently current UTEP track and field standout Blessing Okagbare, the 2008 Beijing bronze medalist in the long jump. The 2010 C-USA Indoor Championships Performance and High Point Scored of the Meet, Okagbare led the Miners to their first ever conference championship in program history. She became the first woman in UTEP history to win two titles in a single national meet during last month?s NCAA Indoor Championships.
Kitchens will be honored at the 20th Annual UTEP Track and Field Hall of Fame Dinner on Thursday, April 8, at the Larry K. Durham Center, immediately following the induction ceremony.
