ANNAPOLIS, Md. – It was announced on Monday by the Naval Academy Athletic Association, that Kim Lewnes has been hired as the head coach of the Navy women's cross country program. No stranger to the Naval Academy and the Midshipmen, Lewnes was most recently on staff as a volunteer assistant under 32-year head coach Karen Boyle. Lewnes brings a decorated past as a collegiate competitor and assistant to her new role as head coach.
 
"It has been an honor serving as Coach Boyle's volunteer assistant and I admire all that she has done for this program," remarked Lewnes. "Over the past two years, I have cherished the time I spent with these awesome Midshipmen and look forward to continuing to help develop our nation's future leaders. As much as I love this sport and competition, I ultimately pursued a career in coaching to enrich the lives of student-athletes as my coaches did for me. I appreciate the opportunity Chet Gladchuk and Jamie Cook have given me to build on the amazing legacy of the Naval Academy's cross country and track & field teams. My family and I are excited to further embrace the Naval Academy and our community."
 
Lewnes first experience with the Midshipmen came during the 2017 fall season when she came aboard as Boyle's assistant coach. During her two years, Navy earned back-to-back third place results at the Patriot League Championship and saw a trio of runners garner All-Patriot League honors: Grace West (2018-first team, 2017-second), Ali Valenti (2017-first) and Emily Craig (2017-second). As part of the Mids' 2018 regular season slate, the team turned in a dominant victory over Army in the teams' annual Star Meet. Racing at the USNA Cross Country Course, Navy saw three of its runners finish in the top-four, including West winning the race with the seventh-fastest time in program history.
 
Prior to joining the Naval Academy, Lewnes spent five years as an assistant coach at Johns Hopkins University. From 2012 through 2016, Lewnes helped guide the women's cross country team to four NCAA Championships and five Mideast Regional Championships. The men's cross country team also reached new heights during her tenure winning two NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. In her five years at Hopkins, Lewnes coached cross country runners to 17 All-America honors and 33 student-athletes earned All-America honors on the track. She was named the Mideast Assistant Coach of the Year during the 2014 and 2015 indoor seasons.

Before joining JHU, Lewnes spent the 2011-12 school year as a volunteer coach at Cornell University, where the women won both the cross country and outdoor track & field Heptagonal Conference Championships.

As a collegiate athlete, Lewnes (nee Standridge) was the track & field team captain and earned numerous accolades for the Big Red in middle distance events. An ECAC champion in the distance medley relay, previous school record holder in the 1000 and third all-time in school history in the 800. Additionally, she garnered All-America honors with a ninth-place finish at the 2010 Outdoor NCAA Division I Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

A 2011 graduate of Cornell University, Lewnes earned a degree in Communication. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University's School of Education in 2017. Lewnes lives in Annapolis with her husband Mack, who was an All-American wrestler for Cornell.
 
Lewnes becomes the fourth head coach in the storied history of the Navy women's cross country program following Karen Boyle (1987-2019), Barbara Lawson (1984-1986) and Major Rocky Rosacker, USMC (1983). All-time, Navy has won over 85 percent of its regular season contests, 21 of 33 Star Meets over Army and four Patriot League titles (2007, 2008, 2011 and 2012).