UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach John Gondak announced the additions of mid-distance/distance coaches Amy Rudolph (Tennessee), Aaron Kindt (Auburn), along with Director of Operations Jess Riden (North Carolina), to the program’s staff ahead of the 2026-27 cross country and track and field seasons.
“Penn State Cross Country/Track and Field is thrilled to have Amy, Aaron and Jess join our staff,” said head coach John Gondak. “They all have great ties to Pennsylvania and Penn State with Jess having run for the program and been on staff previously. They will all add great value to our program and help us continue to have one of the top cross country/track and field programs in the Big Ten and NCAA. I know our staff and our student-athletes will enjoy working with our new additions to the Penn State family.”
Amy Rudolph (Tennessee) - Penn State Assistant Coach | Mid-Distance/Distance
Amy Rudolph comes to Penn State after spending two seasons as an assistant coach for distance and cross country at Tennessee, where she helped guide the Lady Vols to two consecutive (three consecutive overall) NCAA Cross Country Championships appearances and supported the development of two individual men’s national qualifiers. Tennessee distance athletes combined for six All-SEC honors, 11 All-Region performances and one All-America honor during her tenure.
In 2025, Rudolph helped lead the Lady Vols to a runner-up finish at the NCAA South Region Championships and their third consecutive NCAA Championships berth. Freshman Mary Nyaboke Ogwoka earned All-SEC and All-Region honors before placing 24th nationally to become Tennessee’s first cross country All-American since 2015.
Rudolph’s impact extended to the track, as Tennessee distance athletes recorded 11 all-time top-10 program performances during the 2025 indoor and outdoor seasons. Ogwoka earned bronze in the mile at the SEC Indoor Championships and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1,500 meters, while Amelia Wills broke Tennessee’s program record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:52.21 and advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Prior to Tennessee, Rudolph spent six seasons at Iowa State, including her final three as the Cyclones’ head women’s cross country coach. During her tenure, her runners collected nine All-America honors and 14 conference titles.
In her first season overseeing Iowa State’s women’s distance runners, Cailie Logue captured three Big 12 titles in cross country and the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meters, while Anne Frisbie (cross country), Erinn Stenman-Fahey (outdoor 800 meters) and Amanda Vestri (outdoor 10,000 meters) each earned All-America honors.
Rudolph helped develop numerous nationally successful distance runners at Iowa State, highlighted by Janette Schraft, who became the program’s first women’s steeplechaser to earn All-America honors. In 2024, Schraft lowered her own school record in the event by 23 seconds, running 9:34.82 to earn bronze at the NCAA Championships and become a top-25 all-time collegiate performer before competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Seven of Rudolph’s athletes advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary Round that season.
Before Iowa State, Rudolph served as an assistant coach at Drake. She previously spent seven seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Auburn from 2010-17 and held assistant coaching positions at Providence from 2005-07 and Bryant in 2004.
One of the most accomplished American distance runners of her generation, Rudolph is a two-time United States Olympian in the 5,000 meters, a seven-time World Championship team member and a three-time USA National Champion. She finished 10th in the 5,000-meter final at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and set an American record in the event that year with a time of 14:56.04.
Rudolph was a two-time U.S. Indoor Champion in the 3,000 meters, a two-time U.S. short course cross country champion and the 1998 U.S. 8-kilometer road racing champion.
As a collegiate athlete at Providence, Rudolph captured NCAA championships in the indoor mile and outdoor 1,500 meters in 1994, earned 10 All-America honors and was a three-time BIG EAST champion in the 3,000 meters. She was inducted into the Providence Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
Rudolph earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Policy and Management from Providence in 1995.
Aaron Kindt (Auburn) – Penn State Assistant Coach | Mid-Distance/Distance
Aaron Kindt comes to Penn State after spending five seasons as Auburn’s cross country and distance coach. During his tenure, Kindt’s runners produced three All-America honors, one SEC champion, seven school records, six NCAA qualifiers, three SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, a conference Freshman Runner of the Year and 40 all-time top performances across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
In the 2025-26 saseason, Kindt’s distance runners made a signficant impact on the program record books. Max Hardin broke a 45-year-old school record in the outdoor 1,500 meters with a time of 3:38.28, while Camila Gomes set the indoor mile record at 4:36.34. Nickson Chebii added an indoor school record in the 5,000 meters, clocking 13:35.20, after finishing runner-up at the SEC Cross Country Championships and 41st at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Kindt helped lead Auburn to a program milestone during the 2024 cross country season, as three runners qualified individually for the NCAA Championships, the most individual qualifiers in program history. Freshman Brenda Jepchirchir highlighted the group, earning SEC Freshman Runner of the Year honors before placing 21st at the NCAA Championships to earn All-America recognition. Jepchirchir continued her success on the track in 2025, breaking seven Auburn program and freshman records across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Kindt also coached Joyce Kimeli to the first SEC Outdoor title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Auburn program history. Kimeli went on to earn All-America honors during the outdoor season. Ryan Hardin added an SEC silver medal in the outdoor 1,500 meters after setting Auburn’s men’s freshman record in the event earlier in the season with a time of 3:41.83.
Under Kindt’s guidance, Ryan Kinnane broke Auburn’s 42-year-old indoor mile record in 2024, clocking 3:58.28 to become just the second runner in program history to break the four-minute barrier. Kinnane also contributed to Auburn’s record-setting distance medley relay, which ran 9:24.43 to break a program record that had stood since 2009 and, at the time, ranked as the 12th-fastest performance in NCAA indoor history and a distance medley relay silver medal at the 2024 SEC Indoor Championships.
Kindt’s Auburn cross country teams combined for five All-SEC and six SEC All-Freshman honors, while the 2023 men’s team placed fifth at the SEC Championships for the program’s best finish in nearly a decade. His athletes also excelled academically, highlighted by Kinnane becoming the first athlete in Auburn track and field history to earn SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors three times.
Prior to Auburn, Kindt spent seven seasons overseeing the women’s distance program at Southern Miss, where he was promoted to associate head coach for track and field in July 2021. He guided the Golden Eagles to runner-up finishes at the Conference USA Cross Country Championships in 2017 and 2019, while his distance program contributed to Southern Miss’ first Women’s Indoor Conference USA Championship in 2020. The Golden Eagles’ distance medley relay captured the conference title that season, marking the first indoor distance conference championship in program history.
During his seven seasons at Southern Miss, Kindt coached six First Team All-Conference performers, 17 Second Team selections and 17 Third Team honorees across cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field. Each of his cross country teams also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team recognition.
Before Southern Miss, Kindt spent two seasons as an assistant coach at North Florida, where he helped develop the 2012 Atlantic Sun women’s cross country runner-up and 2014 distance medley relay conference champion while contributing to the men’s third-place finish at the 2013 Atlantic Sun Indoor Championships.
Kindt began his coaching career at Florida, serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Gators’ cross country and track and field programs from 2010-12.
A native of Orlando, Fla., Kindt was a four-year letterwinner in cross country and track and field at Florida, competing in events ranging from the 1,500 to the 10,000 meters. He graduated from Florida in 2010 and later earned a master’s degree in sport management from Southern Miss.
Jess Riden (North Carolina) - Penn State Chief of Staff | Director of Operations
Jeff Riden returns to Penn State after spending five years as the Associate Director of Track & Field and Assistant to the Athletic Director at North Carolina, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Tar Heels’ track and field and cross country programs.
Prior to North Carolina, Riden spent four seasons at Stanford, serving as the Director of Operations from 2016-18 before being promoted to Assistant Athletics Director in May 2018. During her time with the Cardinal, Riden played an integral role in managing all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the track and field and cross country programs, including team travel, meet management and social media content.
Riden also directed several high-profile meets during her tenure at Stanford, including the 2018 Pac-12 Track and Field Championships and Combined Events, the 2018 Pac-12 Cross Country Championships and the Payton Jordan Invitational, one of the nation’s premier distance meets. She also served as Stanford’s point of contact for the 2019 Prefontaine Classic, the IAAF Diamond League’s only meet held in the United States.
Additionally, Riden organized and managed the Stanford Invitational track and cross country meets, each of which drew more than 3,000 athletes. The track meet featured 29 hours of competition across two days, while the cross country meet consisted of 14 races and ranked among California’s premier high school competitions.
Riden has also worked extensively with USA Track & Field. She served as head manager for the U.S. U20 team at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, and previously assisted USATF with travel and logistics for international team members at the 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships, 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships.
Before joining Stanford, Riden spent nine years on the track and field staff at Washington and Penn State.
A former Penn State distance runner and native of Reedsville, Pa., Riden is a USATF Level I certified coach and has presented on meet management and team operations at several USTFCCCA conventions.