Release via NC State Athletics

RALEIGH, N.C. - Kim Landrus has been selected to lead the NC State Gymnastics program, Director of Athletics Debbie Yow announced on Friday. Landrus comes to the Wolfpack after 15 years at Illinois, including the last seven as head coach.
 
"Kim immediately stood out during our process as a head coach with a proven track record at a very high level, and the vision to elevate NC State gymnastics, " said Yow. "She takes great pride in her relationships with her student-athletes and helps them excel in the gym and in the classroom. I am thankful to (Assistant Athletics Director) Georgia Brown and her committee for their good work on this search. We are excited to welcome Kim, her husband Steve, and children Zachary and Madelyn to Raleigh as part of Wolfpack Nation."

As head coach for the past seven seasons, Landrus led the Illini to 11th place national finishes in 2011, 2013 and 2014, the three highest finishes in school history. She has helped Illinois to 14 consecutive NCAA appearances, overall, including Top 25 finishes in each of the last 12 seasons.
 
"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to lead Wolfpack Gymnastics," said Landrus. "The athletic vision of excellence at NC State aligns well with my goals for NC State gymnastics becoming a top tier program. I'd like to thank Debbie Yow, Michael Lipitz and Georgia Brown for being so welcoming and ensuring I learned as much about NC State during the process." 
 
"Developing relationships with current and past Wolfpack, in addition to establishing a connection with those who will become part of the family in the future will begin immediately. Additionally, I look forward to working with the entire athletic department and being part of Wolfpack Nation."
 
In 2015, Landrus was honored as NCAA Central Regional Head Coach of the Year as Illinois finished as Big Ten runners-up and placed 13th in NCAAs. Her squad has finished third or better at Big Ten Championships in five of the last ten years. She has helped produce 18 All-Americans and 44 All-Big Ten Selections during her Illinois career.  
 
Illini gymnasts have also excelled in the classroom during her tenure, earning 102 Academic All-Big Ten Honors. The team GPA has been 3.25 or higher in 10 of the last 12 semesters and the program has recorded a multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) of greater than 990 since 2004-05.
 
She arrived in Champaign in 2002 as an Assistant Coach and was elevated to Associate Head Coach in 2006, before being named head coach in 2010-11.
 
Prior to Illinois, Landrus spent two years as an assistant coach for Iowa State University. At ISU, her beam team finished in the top 10 nationally in 2002 with a season-high ranking of fourth.
 
As a student-athlete, Landrus was one of the most decorated gymnasts in Cyclone history. She was ISU's first-ever national qualifier in 1997, a two-time All Big XII Conference pick, the school's Most Valuable Gymnast in 1996 and 1997, and she recorded the first 'Perfect 10' in school history with a perfect performance on the floor exercise at the 1997 Big XII Championships. The four-year letter-winner was named ISU's Woman Athlete of the Year in 1997 and was inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 2013, becoming the first Cyclone female gymnast to accomplish this feat.
 
Landrus was a standout in the classroom, too. She was a four-time Academic All-Conference selection, a two-time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American and earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance in 1997. Landrus received the Big XII Postgraduate Scholarship and the NCAA Women's Enhancement Program Postgraduate Scholarship after earning her undergraduate degree.
 
From 1998-2000, Landrus served as a graduate assistant in the Iowa State compliance unit and earned an MBA degree. She also was the Iowa State gymnastics meet director and coached at Cardinal Gymnastics Academy in Ames, Iowa.
 
The former Kim Mazza, she is a triplet and competed at Iowa State with her sisters, Karen and Katie.
 
She and her husband Steve are the parents of a son, Zachary, and a daughter, Madelyn.
"I have no doubt that Kim will work day and night to execute the vision she has for the NC State Women's Gymnastics Team," said  K.J. Kindler, head coach of Oklahoma Gymnastics, three-time National Coach of the Year and current NCAA Champions. "As a student-athlete, Kim achieved a level of success at Iowa State that had never been done before her. As a member of our coaching staff she was always raising the bar and finding new and better ways to do things. As the head coach at Illinois she has shown tremendous leadership, lifting the Illinois program to consistent success, recognizing talent in recruiting and performing near the top in the country on balance beam year after year. She operates with integrity and executes with hard work. Her vision is clear and her passion is alive and well!"