USTFCCCA Release (6/8/2026) | Cloud County Release (6/8/2026)

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is proud to announce the renaming of the NJCAA Men's Program of the Year award in honor of Harry Kitchener, a legendary NJCAA track and field coach who won two national championships and turned Cloud County Community College into a consistent national title contender.

Kitchener spent 48 years at Cloud County, where he built one of the premier programs in NJCAA history. During his tenure, the T-Birds won 20 consecutive Prairie Junior College Conference Championships, 17 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference West Division Championships, and eight NJCAA Region 6 Championships. Kitchener led the T-Birds to their first-ever NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 2019 and was named the 2019 NJCAA Region 6 Men's Coach of the Year, USTFCCCA NJCAA Central Region Coach of the Year, and USTFCCCA NJCAA Men's Coach of the Year.

Kitchener also led Cloud County to a NJCAA Half Marathon National Championship in 2004.

A member of both the Cloud County Athletics Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Kitchener coached more than 50 NJCAA national champions and nearly 350 All-Americans during his decorated career.