The two-day Victor Cruz Invitational in Houston, Texas
Alan Turner is entering his third season on the Notre Dame coaching staff after joining the program in September 2010. He is responsible for the training of all Irish sprint and hurdlers.
In two seasons, Turner has made an immediate impact at Notre Dame. He has tutored seven Big East champions, 24 All-Big East performances and nine NCAA Outdoor Championships qualifiers. His athletes have broken eight school records.
2012 was a brilliant season for the Notre Dame sprinters and hurdlers, as three individuals won Big East crowns; Nevada Sorenson 60H, Patrick Feeney 400m indoors, Christopher Giesting 200m and 400m outdoors, while the women's 4x100m relay team also claimed the Big East title. His athletes also set seven Notre Dame school records in 2012; Indoors: Kaila Barber, 60H - 8.27, Patrick Feeney, 400m - 46.55, Chris Giesting, 500m - 1:01.28, Women's DMR: Natalie Geiger 400 leg - 11:04.45, Men's DMR: Giesting 400 leg - 9:35.48. Outdoors: Giesting, 400m - 46.03, Men's 4x400m relay - 3:06.20.
Freshman Christopher Giesting was named Big East Men's Outstanding Track Performer after winning the 200m and 400m at the 2012 outdoor championship. He also ran the fastest 400m leg on the NCAA Distance Medley Relay team that won the NCAA Indoor title. Freshman Kaila Barber earned a bronze medal at the IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships in the 400H.
In his first season, Turner coached freshman Patrick Feeney to a sweep of the BIG EAST 400-meter titles at the BIG EAST Indoor & Outdoor Championships. Feeney also was part of the All-American and Notre Dame record holding distance medley relay that finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 9:30.16. Feeney finished 16th in the 400-meters at the NCAA East Regional. Also at the East Regional were sophomore Nevada Sorenson (100H) and freshmen Michelle Brown (400m) and Megan Yanik (400H).
Prior to Notre Dame, Turner spent five seasons at Southern Illinois University. While at Southern Illinois, Turner served as the coach for the men's and women's sprint and hurdle squads as well as the relay teams. With the Salukis, he planned and conducted practices as well as implemented and supervised the program's strength and conditioning program for these groups.
Regarded as one of the top sprint coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during his five-year tenure, Turner mentored 17 MVC champions during his tenure and 25 individuals who earned runner-up finishes. In addition, Saluki student-athletes earned all-MVC honors on 65 occasions. He also coached 25 NCAA regional qualifiers and one NCAA National qualifier.
In 2009-10, Turner steered his sprint and hurdle corps to three school records and five Missouri Valley individual titles in 2009-10. Kandise Thompson set the new SIU standard with a 54.24 in the 400m indoors as well as part of the 4x400m relay team that broke the school record by almost four seconds with a 3:39.51. Kendra Deck broke the 400H record three times and set the new standard at 58.61 finishing 14th at the NCAA West Regional. Tredene Davis was also under the old record during the same race with Deck at the regional meet. Brandon Deloney continued to dominate the 200m in the MVC again sweeping the conference titles at the indoor and outdoor meets. Meredith Hayes also continued her reign in the short hurdles winning the MVC titles for the second straight year in the 60H indoor and 100H outdoor. Sammy Biggs won the outdoor 400m title. The women's team won the outdoor Missouri Valley title for the second straight year by 44 1⁄2 point margin.
In 2009, sprinter Meredith Hayes captured both the 60-meter hurdles (indoor) and 100-meter hurdles (outdoor) titles at the respective MVC league championship meets. In doing so, she established the MVC Indoor Championship meet 60H record at 8.40.
His athletes yielded 19 all-MVC accolades in 2008 along with six MVC titles and eight NCAA Mid-East Regional invitations. Freshman Brandon Deloney won the MVC 200m titles at both the indoor and outdoor championships. In doing so he set SIU's McAndrew Stadium record at 20.83 during the outdoor meet. Deloney finished the 2008 season with four MVC titles, All-Mideast Region in 4x400m and a USATF Jr. National All-American in the 200m. Sophomores Stevie Warren and Sammy Biggs Warren captured MVC titles in the 100m and 400m indoor respectively. Warren, Deloney, Biggs along with senior Antoine Jennings swept the relays at the MVC meet in NCAA regional qualifying times and the quartet finished with All-MidEast regional honors in the 4x400m relay finishing sixth.
In Turner's first season with the Salukis, he directed the efforts of Felix Anderson, who finished as the high-point scorer at the 2006 MVC Indoor Championships. Anderson won the 400-meters and took runner-up in the 200-meters. Anderson also captured the outdoor 200-meters title and was a regional qualifier in the 200-meters, 400-meters and 4x100-meter events.
Prior to his arrival at Southern Illinois, Turner spent two years (2004-05) at Proviso East High School (Maywood, Ill.) as an assistant coach in the sprints and horizontal jumps. While at Proviso East he coached one Junior National Champion, three Junior National qualifiers, two Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state champions, three all-state honorees and six sectional champions. Three of his athletes from the 2004 squad received Division I track scholarships.
Before taking the job Proviso East, Turner assisted triple jumper Kamau Sullivan in qualifying for the USATF Nationals in 1993 and 1994, as a member of the Nike Indiana Track Club.
An accomplished student-athlete in his own right, Turner knows a few things about performing for a high-caliber program. A 1992 graduate of Indiana University, Turner was a three-time All-American for the Hoosiers. He won five Big Ten titles (two long jump, two 400-meters and one 4x400-meter relay) and was a three-time team captain while leading Indiana to five consecutive Big Ten Conference team crowns. In 1991, he captured the NCAA indoor long jump title and was runner-up at the NCAA outdoor championships that same year. He also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400-meters and 4x100-meter relay. More than 20 years since accomplishing that feat, Turner still holds the Indiana record in the outdoor long jump.
Outside of collegiate competition, Turner finished in the top-eight in the long jump at the USA Outdoor Championships four times. He was a member of five U.S. National teams and won the gold medal at the 1991 World University Games in the long jump. A native of North Chicago, Ill., Turner earned a bachelor's degree in public finance from Indiana. Professionally, Turner has worked as a trading assistant with Conseco Capital Management (Carmel, Ind.) and as a portfolio manager with First Chicago and Bank One (Chicago, Ill.).
