WORCESTER, Mass. — Holy Cross Director of Athletics Kit Hughes has announced that Egetta "Jett" Alfonso '92 P24 has been elevated to the position of Richard L. Ahern '51 Director of Cross Country and Track and Field.
Alfonso has served as the head women's track and field coach for 23 seasons. The promotion makes her just the second person to hold the title, replacing Jim Kavanagh, who retired after 52 years at Holy Cross, including 22 as the Director of Cross Country and Track and Field. In the role, Alfonso will oversee both the men's and women's track and field programs, in addition to the cross country teams.
"Holy Cross has now been an integral part of over half of my life," Alfonso said. "Thirty years ago, when I stepped onto the Holy Cross campus as a student-athlete for the first time, I would never have imagined that I'd be the Richard L. Ahern '51 Director of Cross Country and Track and Field. I feel so honored to be following in the footsteps of my friend and mentor Jim Kavanagh. I'm incredibly thankful for the confidence and support of President Vincent Rougeau, Director of Athletics Kit Hughes and the Holy Cross alumni."
During her tenure as a head coach at Holy Cross, Alfonso's athletes have won more than three dozen individual and relay Patriot League Championships. She has had hundreds of student-athletes named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, more than a dozen Academic All-Patriot League selections and two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (Emily Hogan, 2002 and Sarah Dahlstrom, 2014).
"I cannot imagine anyone more qualified or better prepared to take over the reins as the Richard L. Ahern '51 Director of Cross Country and Track and Field than Coach Alfonso," Hughes said. "As an alumna and former member of our Crusader track and field program, Jett knows exactly what it takes to be successful on Mount St. James in the classroom, competition and community. She has already served as a tremendous role model, mentor and friend to generations of Holy Cross student-athletes, and I am thrilled to support her in moving this program forward into the future and building upon the incredible legacy of Coach Jim Kavanagh."
Under Alfonso's guidance, six Crusaders have appeared at the East Preliminary Round of the NCAA Championship — Christa Jay Moore (pole vault — 2019, 2021) and Zoe Matherne (800 meters — 2017, 2018) each qualified twice, while Tiffany Reid (2010) and Andrea Madden (2004) also competed.
Alfonso has coached some of the most prominent names in Patriot League track and field history, with Crusaders earning Athlete or Rookie of the Meet honors on seven occasions at the Patriot League Indoor and Outdoor Championships. In addition to her CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, Hogan was named the Patriot League Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year twice, in 2002 and 2003. Stephanie Okpoebo — who held seven school records upon her graduation in 2014 and was recently inducted into the Varsity Club Hall of Fame — was selected to the Patriot League's 25th Anniversary Team.
During the 2021-22 season, Alfonso's team had a strong showing throughout the year, with the Crusaders finishing in third place out of 21 teams at the New England Indoor Championships. Across the indoor and outdoor Patriot League Championships this year, Holy Cross earned four different individual top-two finishes, with Annie Lineberger winning the outdoor pole vault title.
An outstanding performer for the Crusaders from 1988-1992, Alfonso was a four-year letterwinner at Holy Cross and earned her Bachelor's degree in English from the College. She served as the team's co-captain during the 1991-1992 season and was a member of the school's 4x100 meter relay team which held Holy Cross' all-time record in that event. Alfonso was an All-Patriot League performer in the shot put and the 400-meter dash and an ECAC qualifier in the distance medley relay, while competing in numerous Patriot League and New England Championships.
ABOUT HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS
Holy Cross boasts 27 NCAA Division I teams as members of the Patriot League, Atlantic Hockey Association and the Women's Hockey East Association. Holy Cross' athletic teams are tied for first in the nation with an overall graduation rate of 99 percent, the second straight year in which the Crusaders have led the nation and the 15th consecutive year at 97 percent or higher.
ABOUT HOLY CROSS
The College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Massachusetts — the second-largest city in New England — is among the nation's leading liberal arts institutions. A highly selective, four-year, exclusively undergraduate college of 3,100 students, Holy Cross is renowned for offering a rigorous, personalized education in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, and is one of only 85 colleges in America that meets 100% of students' demonstrated financial need. Holy Cross has made a positive impact in society since its founding in 1843 by graduating students who distinguish themselves as thoughtful leaders in business, professional and civic life.
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