Hokie ClubFollowing a properous first year with the Virginia Tech track and field program, Director Ben Thomas annouced the elevation of Alan Dunson to associate head coach on August 19, 2024. Dunson will continue to strengthen the sprints, hurdles and relays in this role.
Dunson's promotion arrives after six event wins at ACC Championships, two podium finishes for the men's program, and a third consecutive Indoor ACC Championship title for the women.
Sophomore sprinter Judson Lincoln IV thrived under the tutelage of Dunson, finishing third overall at indoor nationals, collecting Second Team All-American honors for the DMR, finishing as the second best qualifier in the NCAA First Round of Outdoor Championships, and earning a fifth place overall finish at NCAA Outdoor Nationals.
The Virginia Tech men and women swept the 400m at the Indoor ACC Track and Field Championship with Barbora Malikova posting a 52.56 personal record for the women and Judson Lincoln IV notching a 45.70 for their respective first place finishes. Malikova went on to break her personal best and the program record in the 400m this summer with a time of 51.45.
Also during the 2024 ACC Indoor Championships, the Hokies brought home the title in the men's 4x400m and set the meet record, winning the event for the first time in program history with a 3:06.00.
Through the outdoor track and field championship season, Dunson and Lincoln IV shone bright. Lincoln snapped the Tech program record and the ACC meet record in the 400m with a 44.60 and a first place finish and claimed the title in the 200m with a personal best of 20.51.
The 4x400m squad also duplicated their results from the Indoor ACC Championships in the Outdoor ACC Championships, bringing home the title with an astounding 3:03.35. The relay saw a five second drop from previous meets in the season and qualified for NCAA Championships where they competed in the prelims to a 13th finish.
Early in the season, the the 4x400m squad, coached by Dunson, set a World and Olympic standard with a rousing 3:01.62 result, at the Pepsi Florida Relays, which also shattered the program record.
Dunson was originally hired in the summer of 2023 as the assistant coach for sprints, hurdles and relays.
Dunson joined Tech from Northern Arizona where he served as Associate Head Coach for the Lumberjacks Track & Field team for the past five years.
Under Dunson's leadership, David Dunlap set the all-time conference record (20.16) in the 200m and was the first sprinter in program history to receive First-Team All-American honors, finishing seventh at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Dunlap finished 14th in 200m (20.69) at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Northern Arizona claimed both the 2023 men's and women's indoor and outdoor conference titles with the sprints squad claiming 10 individual titles. The women's team also won the indoor 4x400m relay and the outdoor 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Sprinter Alyssa Colbert won a silver medal as an alternate for the Team USA 4-100-meter relay at the 2022 U20 World Championships in Cali, Colombia. She ran the anchor leg in the qualifying round in which the team won its heat by more than a second, with a then season-best 43.66.
In 2022, The sprints and hurdles teams saw seven individual champions at both the indoor and outdoor Big Sky Championships en route to the men’s and women’s teams sweeping the competitions for the first time since 2018. Sprinter Alyssa Colbert was named the Big Sky Women’s Co-Most Valuable Athlete at the indoor championships and the Big Sky Women’s Freshman of the Year at the outdoor championships. David Dunlap was named the Big Sky Men’s Most Valuable Athlete at the outdoor championships and the Co-Most Valuable athlete at the indoor championships. Dunson also had his first NAU All-American that spring as Dunlap earned second-team honors in the 200-meter.
Despite the latter half of the 2020 track & field season being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lumberjacks had an impressive indoor season. Both the men’s and women’s teams swept the indoor Big Sky Championships, with the women’s sprint team being a crucial part of their narrow victory. The NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships were both canceled later that year, along with the Big Sky Outdoor Championships.
Dunson’s sprint team saw success in the 2019 indoor track & field season as the men’s team reigned supreme at the Big Sky Championships. He had one sprinter win two separate individual Big Sky titles at the indoor championships as well.
During his tenure at NAU, Dunson's sprints, hurdles, and relays team set 14 school records including nine conference records.
Men's Indoor; 200m (20.54), 400m (46.21). Women's Indoor; 60m (7.24), 200m (23.66), 4x400m (3:37.89).
Men's Outdoor; 200m (20.16). Women's Outdoor; 100m (11.19), 4x100m (44.40), 4x400m (3:34.97).
Before NAU, Dunson was an Assistant Coach at Grand Valley State University where he coached 47 USTFCCCA All-Americans and the 2018 NCAA Indoor DII Women’s 4x400 Relay National Championship team. Also in 2018, he was named the DII National Women’s Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year. In that season, he coached seven athletes that collected 11 All-American honors during the 2018 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships. Dunson was also awarded Women’s Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year honors during the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Prior to GVSU Dunson returned to his alma mater, Ashland University, where he was the Assistant Coach in charge of sprints and hurdles. During that time he coached four first-team USTFCCCA All-Americans during the indoor season and two during the outdoor season. Dunson also coached three sprinters who would go on to become GLIAC champions, including the 2015 GLIAC Indoor Championships Freshman of the Year.
Dunson began his coaching career as the head track & field coach at Bluffton High School in Hilton Head, South Carolina. While at Bluffton, he coached two individual state champions as well as a third-place finisher.
Dunson attended Ashland University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Mathematics. He was a two-sport athlete, receiving eight varsity letters between track & field and football. In track & field, Dunson was a two-time conference champion in the 110-meter hurdles, a seven-time All-GLIAC selection, and a two-time NCAA National Championship qualifier. He was a key member of three GLIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship teams for Ashland.