WASHINGTON – Lee Reed, Georgetown University Francis X. Rienzo Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, has appointed Alton McKenzie (B'93) to Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. McKenzie, who enters his fifth year at the Hilltop, previously served as the associate head coach of Georgetown's Track & Field/Cross Country program. Prior to the Hilltop, he served a six-year stint as the head coach of the University of District of Columbia Women's Cross Country/Track & Field program and also served as the Head Men's Cross Country Coach at UDC from 2011-13.

"I'm excited to announce Alton McKenzie as the new Director of Track & Field/Cross Country," Reed said. "He is an outstanding coach with years of head coaching experience, and he also understands the Georgetown way as a track & field alumnus. Being on staff for the past five seasons, he has a familiarity with our student-athletes, and I am confident he will continue to elevate our programs competitively while maintaining our commitment to the holistic development of our student-athletes."
 
During his six-year stretch with UDC, McKenzie managed the overall operation of the Track & Field program and turned the Firebirds into a force in the NCAA Division II East Region and a powerhouse in the East Coast Conference (ECC). He was twice named the ECC Indoor Coach of the Year (2013, 2014) and coached his athletes to nine NCAA Division II All-America honors. It did not take long for McKenzie's teams to achieve national success as he guided UDC's first All-American in the triple jump (2013) in program history, ending a four-year drought for the Firebirds that dated back to 2009; McKenzie's teams earned four NCAA All-America honors apiece in 2013 and 2014. His teams captured two ECC championships (2013 indoor, 2014 indoor) and McKenzie developed five ECC Athletes of the Year, including the first ECC Men's Cross Country individual champion in program history. McKenzie totaled 173 total All-ECC honors with 122 nods to the first team and 51 on the second team over his final four years. Off the track, one of McKenzie's athletes was named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American in 2014, while eight athletes were named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team and two of his teams were awarded the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Award
 
At Georgetown last season, before competition was cut short due to COVID-19, eight of McKenzie's athletes earned first-place finishes at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, and seven were awarded USTFCCCA honors––tied for the most award-winners in the BIG EAST. 
 
In the past, McKenzie has primarily worked with sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers; during his tenure, McKenzie's athletes have brought seven BIG EAST event titles back to the Hilltop. The 2018-19 campaign was highlighted by a BIG EAST High Point Performer award at the 2019 BIG EAST Indoor Championships as one of McKenzie's athletes won the men's 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash and anchored the winning 4x400-meter relay. Additionally, one of McKenzie's athletes went on to earn All-America honors as he ran the 400-meter leg of the DMR at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, helping the Hoyas to a third-place performance.
 
In 2017-18, one of McKenzie's athletes won the 200-meter dash title in both the BIG EAST Indoor and Outdoor Championships. 
 
The season before, McKenzie was part of the 2016-17 staff that coached the track & field/cross country teams to a No. 6 ranking in the USTFCCCA Men's Program of the Year standings. That same season, McKenzie's athletes amassed seven marks among the top 25 all-time at Georgetown. During the 2017 indoor season, one of McKenzie's athletes earned First Team All-America honors as he ran the 400-meter leg on the third-place distance medley relay squad at the NCAA championships. In McKenzie's first season, the Hoyas won both the indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relay titles at the BIG EAST Championships, a feat the Blue & Gray has accomplished only two other times (1999, 2015). That year, his athletes garnered 10 All-BIG EAST honors across the indoor and outdoor seasons while he coached a women's track athlete to the sixth-fastest 200-meter time in program history.
 
"I am humbled and very honored for this opportunity to lead our program, which has been a part of my life for some time," said McKenzie. "Having competed under the tutelage of the esteemed coach Frank Gagliano, and now being in the position to be the Director of Track & Field, I feel immense pride and appreciation for Georgetown Athletics as I embark on this journey.  I have had the privilege of being a part of a rich history of leadership in Georgetown Athletics, and that tradition has continued under our Athletic Director Lee Reed, who I cannot thank enough for entrusting me to advance the legacy of Track & Field and Cross Country. I, along with a supportive team and staff, look forward to facing all the challenges that come with realizing those successes and helping to develop Hoyas who are productive contributors to our world beyond the Hilltop. HOYA SAXA!"
 
A track and field athlete for Georgetown University himself, McKenzie holds a title in the 4x800-meter event at the 1991 IC4A Championships, and still boasts a top-10 time as part of the indoor 4x800-meter squad that ran 7:22.35, where he ran leadoff. In 1993, McKenzie was an All-American on the Hilltop as the leadoff leg of the fourth-place 4x800-meter relay squad at that year's NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. He served as a team captain his senior year and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration in 1993. Additionally, McKenzie proudly participates in the Department's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group.