FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 1, 2022) – The Northern Arizona University Track & Field program has promoted Alan Dunson from Assistant Coach to Associate Head Coach for Men's and Women's Track & Field.
"This program has tradition, and Coach Smith is a historic director," said Dunson. "For him to have that trust in me and have a valued opinion about how we operate and do things as a staff, there aren't words to describe that. We all work really hard to do things at a high level, but it's extremely meaningful to me to be valued as a colleague and as a professional. Coming from Coach Smith that is just special. I just feel blessed to be able to keep learning how to lead in the way he has continued to lead me."
Dunson is in his fifth year at NAU, acting as the event coach for sprints and hurdles. Prior to coming to NAU he coached at both Ashland University and GVSU. In 2018, while at GVSU, he was named the DII National Women's Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year as well as being awarded Women's Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year honors during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
In his first season at NAU, Dunson saw success during the indoor track & field season. His sprints and hurdles team contributed to a men's team victory at the Big Sky Championships, with one sprinter taking home two individual titles. Christopher Grant finished first in both the 60-meter and 200-meter races.
Although the latter half of the 2020 track & field season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lumberjacks had an impressive indoor season. Both the men's and women's teams swept the Big Sky Championships, with Dunson's women's team playing a crucial part in their narrow victory.
After normal competition resumed with the 2021 outdoor season, Dunson's sprints and hurdles team stormed back in a big way. The Jacks swept the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, with the sprinters contributing to the dominant win and adding two individual titles.
The 2022 season was easily Dunson's most impressive since joining the track & field coaching staff. The sprints and hurdles team saw seven individual champions at both the indoor and outdoor Big Sky Championships en route to the men's and women's teams sweeping both competitions for the first time since 2018. Sprinters
Alyssa Colbert and
David Dunlap were each given Big Sky honors for their efforts at each championship meet. 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. Dunlap was named the Big Sky Men's Co-Most Valuable Athlete at the indoor championships and Most Valuable Athlete at the outdoor championships. Dunlap went on to make the NCAA Outdoor National Championship meet and became Dunson's first NAU All-American as he earned second-team honors in the 200-meter.
Dunson's sprinters have seen success not only at the conference and national lever, but on the world stage as well.
Alyssa Colbert was selected to compete for the United States as part of the delegation to the 2022 U20 World Championships in Cali, Colombia. She served as an alternate on the 4x100-meter relay team which won a silver medal. During the qualifying round she ran the anchor leg, helping the team to win its heat by more than a second with a then season-best time of 43.66.
Despite seeing so much success already in the time he has been at NAU, Dunson is looking to the future and has lofty expectations for both his athletes and the program.
"They're growing as expected," said Dunson. "My expectations are incredibly high because I want the alumni of not just our track & field and cross country programs, but our sprints, hurdles, and relays program, to look back and be proud of the direction we're headed. It feels like the trajectory continues to spike season after season, and standards continue to get redefined. I couldn't ask more than for alumni of the program to reach out on a consistent basis and be excited about how things are being built. That's why I work so hard, to make people that continue to be part of this program, even when they're not here day to day, look back with nothing but pride. That's immeasurable."
