Women's Track & Field

Kenny Anderson enters his fourth season as the Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at Central Methodist in 2023-24.

The 2022-23 season was a stellar year for Anderson and the Eagles, as 13 school records and one conference record were broken. The CMU Women won their second-straight Heart Indoor Conference Championship, which included five individual conference titles. As a result, Anderson was named both the Heart Conference and the USTFCCCA South Central Region Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year. The women’s program finished 8^th at the NAIA Indoor National Championships, led by Junior Dayana Montenegro’s NAIA Runner-Up finish in the 600m. Altogether, the Eagles garnered nine NAIA All-American selections, the most at a single national meet in program history.

Those All-America selections included; Dayana Montenegro (600m), Yanira Paninka (3000m Racewalk), Baileigh Morris (3000m Racewalk), Gizel Clayton (60mH), Delaney Miller (High Jump), and the 4x400m Relay (Dayana Montenegro, Sakoya Johnson, Kjirsten Guilford, and Tre’Breh Scott).

The women followed up their success during the indoor season, winning their first Outdoor Heart Conference Championship in program history with a dominant performance. Six events were won at the outdoor conference championship, highlighted by a 1-2-3 sweep in the women’s 200m dash (Tre’Breh Scott, Dayana Montenegro, Gizel Clayton). Coach Anderson was named both the Heart Conference and USTFCCCA South Central Region Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year. 

Under Anderson’s tutelage, freshman Gizel Clayton had a breakout season, winning and setting the Heart of America 100m hurdle record at the outdoor conference championship. She capped her season off as the NAIA Runner-Up in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.38. The women’s program finished 14^th overall at the NAIA Outdoor National Championship with four All-Americans: Gizel Clayton (100mh), Renee Finke (High Jump), and Baylee Beard (Shot Put & Hammer).

On the men’s side, CMU finished on the podium for the third consecutive season with a third-place finish at the Heart Outdoor Conference Championship. The men’s 4x4 team of Mohammed Nyaoga, Jack Schiffhauer, Doriye Jackson, and Adrian Watson won the title at the conference championship.

The track and field programs have seen a steady improvement under Anderson's guidance in his first two seasons. The 2022 campaign saw the women's side win the first Indoor Heart Conference Championship in program history. For his efforts, Anderson was named the Heart Indoor Coach of the Year. Sophomore KJ Johnson was the Highest Point Scorer at the meet after sweeping the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles, and long jump titles, with all three being new school records. In all, CMU won five events at the two-day meet. Anderson was also named the USTFCCCA South Central Region Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year.

On the men’s side, Taylor Bottomley won both the Hammer Throw and Shotput at the Indoor Conference Championship, setting new school records in both. In addition, Anderson guided freshman, Ethan Smith, to a first-place finish in the men’s heptathlon. 

During the outdoor season in 2022, the women’s program continued to show they are a force, finishing as the Heart of America Runner-Up for the second-straight season. The outdoor campaign also saw the emergence of Keiara-Ashley Cunningham’s dominance in the 400-meter hurdles. The native of Ontario, Canada not only broke the school record in the  400m hurdles but also set the Heart of America Conference Championship and facility record. She finished her junior season as an NAIA All-American with a fifth-place standing at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in a time of 1:01.24.  

On the men's side, CMU finished as the Heart of America Conference Runner-Ups, the highest finish since 2015. Taylor Bottomley led the charge as he won both the Hammer Throw and the Discus. Ethan Smith won the Decathlon and Parker Yager won the pole vault. Bottomley also finished fourth at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in the hammer throw to gain All-American status. 

The 2020-21 season saw both the men’s and women’s track & field programs soar to new heights, with numerous student-athletes collecting All-America, All-Region, and All-Conference accolades in Anderson’s first season.

During the indoor season, the women’s program garnered its highest finish since the conference expanded to 14 schools in 2015 with a runner-up finish. Anderson guided freshman Kailey “KJ’ Johnson to a new school record in the 60m dash (7.83) and a conference championship in the 60-meter hurdles. Johnson finished as the highest point scorer at the Heart Indoor Championships and was honored as the Heart Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet. For his accomplishments, Coach Anderson was named the Heart Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year.

On the men’s side, senior thrower Taylor Bottomley broke school records in both the shotput (16.82m) and the weight throw (19.03m). Bottomley was named the Heart Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet as well as the USTFCCCA South Central Men’s Field Athlete of the Year. Anderson also guided the quartet of Nehemiah Colyer, Jacob Fritz, Curtis Johns, and Mohammed Nyaoga to a fourth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay at the NAIA Indoor National Championship.

The same type of success carried over into the 2021 outdoor season. KJ Johnson was once again the highest point scorer at the Heart Outdoor Championships, and the women’s program finished as the Conference Runner-Up. The same 4x4 quartet of Colyer, Fritz, Johns, and Nyaoga finished eighth at the NAIA National Championships, breaking the school record with a time of (3:14.87). Taylor Bottomley finished seventh and eighth in the Hammer Throw and Shotput respectively at nationals, earning NAIA All-America honors in both events. Anderson guided Hayden Hackman to a Conference Championship in the Men’s Decathlon in which he also was named the Heart Field Athlete of the Meet. Hackman broke the school record in the Decathlon at the NAIA National Championship, posting a third-place finish with 6890 points.

Between the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons, Anderson has coached 65 National Qualifiers and 26 All-Americans in his first three seasons at the helm of the program.

Anderson came to Central after spending two seasons as the Assistant Track & Field Coach/Recruiting Coordinator for Johnson C. Smith University (NCAA Division II). During his time with the Golden Bulls, Anderson coached 15 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) selections, two CIAA individual runner-ups, and inked four New Balance All-Americans.

Prior to his time with Johnson C. Smith, Anderson made stops on the track at Bolles School and Withrow High School. He also served as an assistant coach on the women's basketball side for Stetson University (NCAA Division I) and Lynn University (NCAA Division II).

Anderson, a Florida native, graduated with a degree in Electronic Engineering Technology from Florida A&M University. 

TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• 2022 and 2023 Heart of America Women’s Indoor Conference Champions
• 2023 Heart of America Women’s Outdoor Conference Champions

AWARDS

• Heart of America Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year: 2021, 2022, 2023
• USTFCCCA South Central Region Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year: 2022, 2023
• Heart of America Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year: 2021, 2023
• USTFCCA South Central Region Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year: 2023