RICHARDSON, TX (07.05.18) - UT Dallas Director of Athletics Bill Petitt is excited to announce the hiring of Danielle Kcholi as the Comets' first-ever full-time head cross country coach.

A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Kcholi served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Comets this past academic year, helping the UTD women's squad to a second straight American Southwest Conference title.

"Danielle brings a wealth of knowledge to the program," said Petitt. "She has proven to be a highly successful head coach in her career and was a tremendous asset to our student-athletes last year as a volunteer. Danielle was instrumental in our women's squad winning another conference championship and Lindsey Rayborn advancing to the national championship meet."
 
Prior to joining the UTD staff, Kcholi was the head coach for men's and women's cross country at NCAA Division II Eastern New Mexico. Taking over as interim head coach in 2012, Kcholi took over the reins of both programs in 2014 and led both the ENMU men and women to runner-up finishes in the competitive Lone Star Conference during her tenure. In her first season as full-time coach, she mentored the Greyhounds to a second-place finish at the LSC championships while guiding the Zias to a third-place finish. Her Zias then collected a runner-up finish at the conference meet in 2015, the program's best-ever performance at the event. One year later, the ENMU matched that performance with a second-straight second-place finish.

"Adding a full-time head coach is a big step for our program," continued Petitt. "We have had success without a full-time head coach and I truly believe we can compete on a national level in a short time with Danielle's leadership."

Before her stint at ENMU, Kcholi spent one season as an assistant coach at Concordia Texas, a fellow member of the American Southwest Conference.

Kcholi was a student-athlete at ENMU before taking over as coach of the program. A member of the LSC Commissioner's Honor Roll, she was twice honored with the ENMU Cross Country Leadership Award and served as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She earned her bachelor's degree in communications from ENMU in 2011 and went on to earn a master's degree in physical education in 2013.