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Georgetown University Athletics

Big East Conference Hoya Saxa
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Alton McKenzie

Alton McKenzie is entering his eighth year at the Hilltop, and first as the Director of Track & Field /Cross Country. He previously 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.
 
AT GEORGETOWN
  • Women's Cross Country has won four straight BIG EAST titles under Alton McKenzie.
  • McKenzie helped lead the Hoyas in 2023 to a first place finish in the women's Cross Country BIG EAST Championships and a third place finish for the men. 
  • Led the men's outdoor team to a second place finish and the women's team to a third place finish in the BIG EAST outdoor championships. 
  • Coached the USATF U20 3,000-meter champion who went on to compete at the World Athletics U20 Championships
  • McKenzie helped secure five first-place finishes at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships.
  • In the 2021-22 season, McKenzie helped an athlete win Men's Most Outstanding Performer in track Events
  • Working primarily with the sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers, McKenzie’s athletes have brought seven BIG EAST event titles back to the Hilltop in his short tenure.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • During the 2016-17 campaign, McKenzie worked with the sprints and jumps student-athletes, amassing 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.
  • He coached a GU athlete to the sixth-fastest women’s indoor 200-meter time in program history.
  • Four athletes recorded PRs in McKenzie’s inaugural season on staff and his athletes garnered 10 All-BIG EAST honors across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
  • 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).
PRIOR TO GEORGETOWN
  • Over his six-year stint at 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).
  • During his time with UDC, McKenzie 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. The All-America honor in the triple jump ended 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.
  • Additionally, 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.
GEORGETOWN CAREER, ACADEMICS & PERSONAL
  • McKenzie was an All-American on the Hilltop as the leadoff leg of the fourth-place 4x800-meter relay squad at the 1993 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
  • He ran the second leg on the indoor 4x800-meter IC4A championship squad in 1991 and still holds a top-10 time as part of the indoor 4x800-meter squad that ran 7:22.35, where he ran leadoff.
  • He served as a team captain his senior year and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration in 1993.
  • He received his USATF Level I certification in 2012.
  • McKenzie and his wife, Charlene, reside in Silver Spring, Md., with their son, Micah, and daughter, Gabriella.