Track & Field Hires Tommy Kitchell As Throws Coach
August 21, 2025 | Track & Field
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina Director of track & field and cross country Chris Miltenberg announced the hiring of Tommy Kitchell as an assistant coach on Monday, Sept. 8. Kitchell will coach the throws event group.
"We are so excited to welcome Tommy back to Carolina as our throws coach," Miltenberg said. "As a student-athlete, he made an enormous impact on our program through his leadership and competitiveness. Tommy's passion for Carolina track & field and for the heights we know our throws program can reach is unmatched. His energy is infectious, and I'm confident he will quickly establish himself as one of the brightest young throws coaches in the country."
Kitchell burst on the scene in his one year as a Tar Heel in 2025 by dominating at the Indoor ACC Championships, taking home the field MVP honors as he won the shot put and took fourth in the weight throw. Kitchell followed that up with a first-team All-America finish at the indoor national championships as he wrapped up indoor season with the number two all-time mark in program history (20.47m) in the men's shot put.Â
Kitchell improved drastically during the outdoor season, dominating in the postseason as he finished as the NCAA runner-up in the men's shot put, which was the highest finish in program history by a men's shot putter. Kitchell also secured his ACC championship sweep of the shot put, rewriting the school record twice that season. He wrapped up his college career by winning Southeast Region Track Athlete Of The Year. Kitchell is the second Tar Heel in as many seasons to earn a postseason award for the Southeast Region, as Parker Wolfe won the Southeast Region Track Athlete Of The Year last season.  Â
"I am honored to lead the throws group here at the University of North Carolina and to serve alongside the best track and field staff in the nation," Kitchell said." "I want to thank Coach Miltenberg, Coach Riden and our entire staff for their trust and support. We have some of the most talented athletes in the NCAA, and I am confident that this year they will rise to their full potential as competitors. Together, we win!"
Kitchell graduated from Wake Forest with a degree in communications and marketing. He left Wake Forest as the school leader in the shot put (indoor), No. 2 in the shot put (Outdoor) and in the top six for the weight throw, discus and hammer.
Kitchell is working towards his masters in accounting from the Kenan-Flagler Business School.Â
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