The Concord University Athletic Department released the hiring of Jonathan Kigel to the position of head men's and women's track & field and cross country coach June 23, 2025.

Kigel just wrapped his first season at CU in 2025-26. 

The first academic year for Kigel at Concord was successful as he coached Dom Collins to All-American honors in the 60-meter dash during the indoor season. During the outdoor track season, Cassidy Hammonds repeated as the Mountain East Conference Champion in the heptathlon. Hammonds and Cierra Parker earned All-Atlantic Region on Kigel's watch. 

The cross country season was good to Kigel in the fall of 2025. Braden Ward was named All-Atlantic Region, continuing a streak of 11 straight year with at least one Concord men's cross country athlete earning all-region. On the women's side, Violet Wall was All-MEC First Team and was voted as the MEC Freshman of the Year. 

Kigel came to Concord from fellow Division II school Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida where he spent two years helping grow an up-and-coming running program in the Sunshine State. Kigel was an assistant to Lynn head coach Junior Cadet starting in January 2023—his first collegiate job.

At Lynn, Kigel guided Luke Sweatman to All-Sunshine State Conference Second Team honors in cross country which was the Knights' first all-conference member in the program's existence—dating back to the 2018-19 academic year. With Kigel's guidance, Sweatman set school records in the 800-meter run (1:50.53), 1,500-meter run (3:46.30) and 5,000-meter run (14:39). Sweatman earned All-South Region in both the 800-meters and 1,500-meters as a junior and just missed all-region as a senior in the half mile this past spring.

Sweatman hasn't been Lynn's only all-region athlete during Kigel's tenure with the Knights. In the spring of 2024, Brooke Mullins was an All-South Region performer for Lynn in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as she ran a school-record time of 11:43.33.

Kigel has experience in the sprint disciplines as well. Collin Clark was an all-region athlete each of the last two years in the 400-meter dash, running a time of 46.72 seconds this spring. Along with Clark's success in the quarter-mile, Lynn was represented at this year's NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships with Paul Mosley earning First Team All-American in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. He finished sixth in the 100-meter dash, clocking 10.10 seconds. In the 200-meters, Mosley was the national runner-up with a time of 20.55 seconds. It was Mosley's second visit to the national championship met after finishing 12^th in the 200-meter dash at the 2024 outdoor championships.

Kigel arrived in Athens with a bevy of certifications to his name. The 2017 graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology has his level three certificate from United States of American Track & Field (USATF) with an emphasis in endurance. He also has certificates from the USATF in level two jumps, sprints, hurdles and throws as well as a cross country specialist certification.

Additionally, Kigel is a certified strength & conditioning specialist, even serving as the interim strength coach at Lynn for a short time from January 2024 to March 2024 where he worked with the Knights' swim and baseball teams.

The next cross country and track & field head coach at Concord got into the running world with his first stop coming at Gainesville (Fla.) High School as a volunteer assistant in 2018. He moved on to Park Vista High School—Kigel's alma mater—in January 2020. 

While at USF, Kigel earned his master's degree in exercise science.