Kevin Arseneaux: Running the Race Set Before Him

Kevin Arseneaux ‘25 is wrapping up one of the most decorated running careers of anyone to ever wear a Golden Tornado jersey. He’s won conference championships, advanced to national meets, and holds several cross country and track and field school records. That’s not the primary thing that Kevin wants people to know about himself, though. He wants others to know who Christ is and how his life is changed because of Him. 

“When I look back at my life, I can see God’s fingerprints all over it, even during my early years,” shares Kevin. “It was when I began to find the purpose of life set before me as kind of hopeless, that’s when God started to open my heart. And to be honest, my family’s purpose in life of working hard, providing for each other, and treating people kindly wasn’t bad, at least by the world’s standards. But a point came when that began to feel empty. It just didn’t satisfy my soul, and I began to ask myself big life questions, and it scared me not to know the answers to those questions.” 

Kevin was born near Boston to a young mother. By the time he was two, his mother had fallen into drug addiction and was no longer a part of his upbringing. His father battled some alcohol issues early in Kevin’s life, though he managed to overcome those when Kevin was still in elementary school.  

“We’ve had our struggles as a family,” says Kevin, “but I am still really thankful for my upbringing and how much my family gave up so I could have the opportunities that I have been afforded. I would not be here at Geneva without them. They’ve always loved and supported me.”  

In fifth grade, his father entered him in a local 5K race as something to give Kevin some exercise, and he immediately displayed natural running ability. A year later, he ran another 5K race and finished ahead of everyone that was close to his age, even many who were several years older. 

“Running became the thing that I wasn’t mediocre at. I was always part of the sports group at school, but I was really pretty average at most things, until I found running. The competitive side of me always wanted to be better than the boys around me, and running is the one thing I found that I could excel at.” 

In eighth grade, Kevin ran a mile in 4:46, which placed him among the top runners in the nation for his age group. When he reached high school, Kevin became one of the strongest runners in his area, excelling on the track while beginning to pursue a Division I scholarship. Despite many successes, though, the honors he received never satisfied him, and he longed for something more. 

During his junior year of high school, he began dating a girl at his school. She went to church regularly, so Kevin followed her to church, not because he was interested in God, but because he was interested in her. However, the Lord used those services to open Kevin’s heart, and it was through his regular attendance that the Lord brought him to Himself. 

That same year, Kevin accepted Christ, and his church lined up a date for his baptism on an upcoming Sunday. He soon realized that his conference championship meet was on the same day as his scheduled baptism, and he had to decide which to attend. He knew that an excellent performance at the conference championship meet would potentially open doors for college recruitment, but he felt something bigger at play. 

“There was something within me, I think a gift of the Holy Spirit, that whatever was going on inside me was way deeper than running, and my life depended on it. My new relationship with Jesus Christ was the difference between life and death. And so for me, it actually wasn’t a hard decision. I skipped my conference championship meet to get baptized, because my hope was now no longer in running, but in Jesus Christ.” 

As his senior year began, Kevin began to feel the strong desire to go to a Christian college, but still at the Division I level. He visited a couple of larger schools, and though he generally enjoyed the visits, he didn’t like the large environment at those schools. 

“After I made a couple Division I visits, I began to realize that the reason I wanted to go to a Division I school was because of the label. I was prideful, and the Division I label fed that. But God shut certain doors during my early visits, and God began convicting me of why I wanted to run in college. Was what I was looking for really God glorifying? I realized I didn’t have to run Division I. That’s not why I should be running. I needed to run for the glory of God and to make him happy. And so I started looking at smaller schools.” 

His father, seeing Kevin’s growing desire to attend a smaller Christian school, found two schools online in the northeast, both in Pennsylvania, that seemed to fit what Kevin was looking for. One of those schools was Geneva College, and so he and his father made a trip to visit both schools. 

What he found at Geneva was unlike any other place he visited. The second school he visited on that trip had bigger facilities and more successful programs, but he didn’t find the type of genuine people he found at Geneva. The people he interacted with during his visit at Geneva were authentically Christian, making their faith clear in his initial conversations. After meeting with Geneva’s cross country and track and field coach, Phil Thompson, he left Geneva feeling that, despite still knowing only a little bit about the college, that this is where he would spend the next four years of his life. 

“I just couldn’t ignore the hospitality I was shown by Geneva’s staff, faculty, and coaches on my visit. I could tell there was something different about Geneva, and even my father noticed it. It was the people. The people were just different than anywhere else I visited. I could tell the people I met with were genuine and meant what they said about their faith. My dad could tell that Geneva was where I would flourish, even if he doesn’t really share my Christian beliefs. And Coach Thompson was a huge part of that. I really, really liked Coach T, and I needed to be able to see myself having a strong relationship with my coach.” 

Kevin arrived at Geneva in the fall of 2021 with high expectations athletically, and he’s managed to exceed many of those goals. He became the first Geneva men’s cross-country runner to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championship meet. He’s been named the Most Outstanding Performer multiple times at both the cross country and track and field conference championship meets. Kevin also owns four separate indoor and outdoor school track and field records. He regularly has gone to Division I meets during his time at Geneva, including one at Ohio State his sophomore year when he defeated a field of almost entirely Division I runners to win the 1500-meter race. 

He also immersed himself in the Geneva community as soon as he arrived on campus. He was still new in his faith and had never lived in a community of believers like Geneva. That first year was so impactful with the people that he encountered. It gave him the structure and support to grow in his faith in ways that he couldn’t have anticipated.

Kevin came in as an honors student and has excelled in the honors program, earning multiple academic awards. He played saxophone in the jazz band for multiple years. He began regularly attending College Hill Reformed Church, right next to campus, his freshman year, and he’s been heavily involved there. He’s been part of a discipleship group at the church throughout his four years at Geneva, he’s teaching youth Sunday school classes, and he also serves as an usher. Kevin’s also been an active part of a regular track and field Bible study. All these communities played a part in growing him into the man of God that he has become today. 

Through his involvement in various groups at Geneva, along with his presence at College Hill Reformed Church, Kevin developed an interest in missions. He attended a large missions conference twice during his college years with his good friend and classmate Josh Bout, who grew up as a missionary. He spent one summer serving as a youth counselor at a summer church camp for underprivileged youth. As he began wrapping up his degree in secondary education this year, he broadened his search for a future teaching job, and in God’s providence Kevin was led to accept a two-year position at a Christian school in Indonesia where he will teach history and Bible, while also coaching track. 

“Geneva helped me understand questions like, ‘What am I doing here?’ and ‘What is my purpose?’  I don’t exist for myself. There’s a greater mission beyond myself that God is inviting me to be a part of, and that’s to see the Gospel go to the nations. That’s what it’s all about, and so if I’m going to run, it’s not because I’m trying to break records. It has to be deeper than that. So, it’s not about how fast I can run, or even what kind of job I can get after college. I want to be excellent on the track, and in my academic work, not for my own glory, but for God’s. All of those things have to come under the umbrella for God’s call on my life, and this position in Indonesia brings so many of those things together.” 

God has also been at work in his mother’s life. Kevin’s mother re-entered his life in high school after she found stability, and as the Lord began working in Kevin’s life, he began telling his mom how Christ was transforming him. The father of one of his classmates at Geneva is a pastor of a church in Providence, Rhode Island, and Kevin connected his mom with this pastor. His mother is now worshiping regularly at the church, and her life has changed drastically as she came to faith. Their relationship has begun to heal, and that anger and resentment Kevin felt early on in his life towards his mother is fading away, with a new relationship founded upon the love and forgiveness that is only found through Jesus Christ. And Kevin continues to live faithfully before his father and grandparents, praying that the Lord would open their eyes in the same way God has opened Kevin’s eyes. 

“As I come to the end of my college career, I’ve reflected on how much these past four years have impacted my life, from my academics to my athletics, to the Geneva community and my church community. I arrived here as a boy, really, and I feel like I’m leaving here a man, ready to serve in God’s kingdom wherever He calls me. I definitely am not a finished product with still a lot of growth needed, but I’m thankful for the Lord’s work in my life throughout these four years at Geneva.” 

“I’ve also reflected a lot recently about the three pillars of athletics here at Geneva that President Troup often talks about: growing in intensity and self-control, increasing in preparation and performance, and displaying relentless heart. Those aren’t just nice mantras to write on a wall. When you incline your heart to your athletic experience here at Geneva, you will learn about life and faith through those three pillars of athletics. I’ve learned so much about faith and Christian character though applying my faith in athletics, and those pillars apply just as much to the Christian life as they do to athletics.” 

Kevin recently read Eric Liddell’s biography, and it was one of the most impactful books he’s ever read. Liddell won an Olympic gold medal for Scotland as a sprinter in 1924 before leaving those glories behind to serve as a missionary in China, where he eventually died serving Christ in a foreign land at the young age of 43. 

Liddell once said, “It has been a wonderful experience to compete in the Olympic Games and to bring home a gold medal. But since I have been a young lad, I have had my eyes on a different prize. You see, each one of us is in a greater race than any I have run in Paris, and this race ends when God gives out the medals.” 

Kevin is fast, but just like Eric Liddell, his eyes are not ultimately set on the finish line of the track. He echoes the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Kevin does that on the track, but much more so now, in his life. 

By Chris Mathews ‘00