Andy Kokhanovsky Season 2024
LSU announced the signing of assistant coach Andy Kokhanovsky in the fall of 2022. The 2024 season will mark Kokhanovsky’s second season of leading the throws squad at LSU, after an excellent first season in 2023.
In his first season coaching at LSU, Kokhanovsky made the most of a small-sized throws group, sending two athletes to compete at their first USATF Outdoor Championship in John Meyer and Tzuriel Pedigo.
Pedigo was one of three Tigers to take home an NCAA title during the 2023 outdoor season. This marked his second NCAA title for javelin throw since the Baton Rouge native joined the team. His NCAA Outdoor title winning performance included rewriting his LSU program record by reaching a distance of 79.79 meters (261’ 9”) on his third attempt of the day. Pedigo’s previous program record entering the week was 78.90 meters (258’ 10”). His excellent season earned him honors such as the LSWA Men’s Field Athlete of the Year award, First Team All-American, Second Team All-SEC, and a SEC weekly honor. Pedigo closed out his year with 16th-place finish at the USATF Outdoor Championships.
Kokhanovsky saw Meyer improve his indoor LSU shot put record to 20.37 meters (66’ 10”) in an SEC title winning performance in February. His indoor season ended with a First Team All-American nod and a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championship meet with a throw of 20.27 meters (66’ 6”). The indoor First Team All-SEC member won three of his five meets competed in and ended the indoor season ranked fourth in the nation.
Outdoors, Meyer racked up his second First Team All-American nod of the season with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and a day’s best throw of 20.44 meters (67’ 0.75”). Meyer continued to stamp himself as the best shot putter in LSU history, tying his outdoor and overall record of 20.50 meters (67’ 3.25”) in his second-place finish at the SEC Outdoor Championships to earn Second Team All-SEC honors. Meyer finished the outdoor season ranked seventh in the nation for shot put, and closed the year out with a 10th-place finish at the USATF Outdoor Championships in July.
Prior to LSU, Kokhanovsky spent 17 seasons at Kansas where his athletes won 35 conference championships and two national championships. Four of his athletes from KU went on to compete in the Olympic Games. During his time in Lawrence, Kan., Kokhanovsky produced 59 All-Americans.
Kokhanovsky’s move to LSU signals his return to Louisiana, where he worked as an assistant coach at McNeese from 1998-2001 and at UL Monroe from 2001-05.
Kokhanovsky’s presence has been seen on a national and international scale. In 2021, he guided Kansas’ Alexandra Emilianov (women’s discus), Mason Finley (men’s discus) and Gleb Dudarev (men’s hammer throw) to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
During the 2022 season, Kokhanovsky guided Emilianov to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the discus, with Emilianov becoming the first woman in Kansas history to have four first team All-American honors in the event. Emilianov also won the 2022 Big 12 Outdoor Championship in the discus, marking her third career title in the event.
Kokhanovsky joined the Kansas staff after working from 2001-05 at Louisiana-Monroe. While at UL Monroe, Kokhanovsky’s athletes qualified for a total of 11 NCAA regional championships and set seven school records.
His collegiate coaching career began at McNeese State, where he coached throws and multi-events from 1998-01.
Kokhanovsky graduated from Abilene Christian University in 1998 with a B.S. in education. In 1996, he set a Division II national record in the discus with a throw of 211’5”. He was also the national champion and an All-American in the event. The same year, Kokhanovsky represented the Ukraine in the discus at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Before his time in Abilene, Kokhanovsky competed at Blinn Junior College where he set the national record for junior colleges in the discus in 1995 with a throw of 210’8”. He was an All-American and the national champion in the discus in 1994 and 1995 at Blinn.
In addition to his time as a collegiate thrower and coach, Kokhanovsky was a member of the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian national teams from 1984-93. In 1989, he won the USSR national championship in the discus and in 1992 was ranked as high as 12th in the world in that event after throwing his personal record of 215’5”.
He competed in the World University Games in Germany (1989), England (1991) and the United States (1993). Additionally, Kokhanovsky held the Soviet national high school record (ages 17 and younger) in the discus with a throw of 215’2”.
Kokhanovsky holds a Level I and II USA Track & Field coaching certification and a USA Weightlifting coaching certification. He and his wife, Marissa, have a daughter, Ana-Claire.