Derek Kite, a former LCU collegiate standout and professional runner, joins the LCU Athletic Department this year after arriving from York College (Neb.), where he served as the head men's and women's track and cross country coach since the 2009-10 season.

A two-time Olympic Trials competitor in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase (competing in both 1996 and 2000), Kite was the 2003 USAT Rookie Duathlete of the Year (running/cycling) and ranked No.1 in the nation. He competed in several Duathlon World Championships and finished as a three-time top-American finisher and was sixth overall at the 2007 World Championships in Hungary. Kite also competed in numerous triathlons as a professional (running/cycling/swimming), winning five in 2003.

Kite enjoyed an illustrious high school career in California where he won state in the mile (4:13) in 1990 and was on the No.1 ranked cross country team in the nation. Running for Lubbock Christian University, he was part of a four-time National Championship Cross Country Team and turned in the fourth best time in nationals his senior year. He earned 14 All-American honors at LCU including the Indoor three-mile National Champion and the Outdoor 3,000-meter Steeplechase National Champion in 1994. In 2006, he was inducted into the LCU Hall of Fame.

After earning his B.S. degree in Biology at LCU, Kite coached the men's cross country team at Pepperdine University for three seasons (1995-1997). He and his wife Valerie have two young children, Jacob and Shealyn.