Alton McKenzie'93 named new Georgetown director of track and field/XC

Here is the press release:

https://guhoyas.com/news/2020/11/4/womens-xc-track-alton-mckenzie-named-director-of-track-field-cross-country.aspx

Hopefully he will revitalize the Hoya mid-distance program. It seemed like Culley was trying to round out the squad with sprints and jumps, so instead of being great at mid-d and bad at sprints/jumps they ended up being mediocre at both. Georgetown just isn’t the place to try to win team conference titles in track. But they could be great at XC and win some penn relay titles, NCAA all Americans, etc. Such is my hope

The last time there was a Penn Relays the men won 2 wheels. That same year the men were 3rd at ncaas in the dmr. I completely agree the women have really struggled since Mike Smith left.

That’s a fair point, though I’d argue that was mostly on the backs of older guys like Joe White who were recruits from an earlier time.

But yeah, tough to lose a coach like Mike Smith

Is this guy going to try coaching the long distance runners too? Or is he going to hire a head XC coach?

Great track tradition at that school. They have had superstars. Joe White was a stud and had a huge impact for the program as a Penn Relays champion and NCAA All-American. They barely lost 4 x mile to Villanova a couple of years ago and after that finished top 3 in a tight kick vs. Wisconsin and Morgan McDonald (who is pretty good).

They did get 3rd in DMR at a few times recently with a group of lesser knowns. Perhaps they weren't as deep in past couple of years but they did have high end Penn Relays and NCAA middle distance presence.

Alton was a high school classmate of mine.

The program could not have found a more a coach more steeped in, and enthusiastic about, the traditions of Georgetown.

He is also going to be an incredible recruiter, particularly in the sprints and jumps; but he should also do well with mid distance runners.

As far as technical skills, just look at what he did at UDC in his short time.

Brandon Bonsey will continue to coach the men's XC and mid-distance and distance, and Mitchell Baker the women.

I am a former teammate and completely agree!!

Don B. wrote:

Brandon Bonsey will continue to coach the men's XC and mid-distance and distance, and Mitchell Baker the women.

Mitchell should do a nice job with the women and is a good recruiter. His body of work while at the helm at Brown from 2011 -2017 demonstrated his ability to recruit and grow a program. Brown by no means was a powerhouse but according to Flotrack he had the 7th best recruiting class one year.

Good culture there at the hill-top currently and hopefully will continue with AM at the helm.

Don B. wrote:

Brandon Bonsey will continue to coach the men's XC and mid-distance and distance, and Mitchell Baker the women.

Wow. Big step down from coaches of the past. Expect Villanova to run circles around them. They are lucky the rest of the Big East is severely under-funded.

GUTRACKLIFE wrote:

Don B. wrote:

Brandon Bonsey will continue to coach the men's XC and mid-distance and distance, and Mitchell Baker the women.

Mitchell should do a nice job with the women and is a good recruiter. His body of work while at the helm at Brown from 2011 -2017 demonstrated his ability to recruit and grow a program. Brown by no means was a powerhouse but according to Flotrack he had the 7th best recruiting class one year.

Good culture there at the hill-top currently and hopefully will continue with AM at the helm.

At Brown they were one of, if not the worst, women's cross country teams in the Ivy League with Baker. He inherited a strong program that had been top 3 in the league in 3 out of the previous 4 years.

2011 - 7th out of 8

2012 - tied for 3rd

2013 - 7th

2014 - 7th

2015 - 4th

2016 - 4th

2017 - 5th

His "top 7" recruiting class did absolutely nothing. Total bust.

money back wrote:

Don B. wrote:

Brandon Bonsey will continue to coach the men's XC and mid-distance and distance, and Mitchell Baker the women.

Wow. Big step down from coaches of the past.

Why on Earth would you say that?

Van Nostrand is a fitting user name here.

Who cares why people crap on other people’s proud career moments?

Time will always tell the truth. Programs either stay at the top, improve or stagnate. I’ve got great confidence that Coach McKenzie and his team will pass that test.

So let people disparage. The proof needs to be, and I believe will, be in the pudding.