State College, Pa.; Aug. 12, 1999 -- Beth Alford-Sullivan, the Stanford women's cross country and track and field coordinator, is Penn State's new coach of women's track and field and cross country.

Athletic director Tim Curley said in announcing the appointment, "We are delighted to welcome Beth to Penn State. She has an impressive background with a wealth of experience as an athlete and international and national coach."

Alford-Sullivan has been responsible for women's cross country and distance runners at Stanford since 1995 working under Vin Lananna, who is the director of track and field.

She was the 1998 Pac 10 women's cross country coach of the year, repeating an honor she also won in 1997 and 1996.

She was the NCAA women's cross country coach of the year in 1996 when Stanford won the NCAA team title.

She won regional coach of the year honors in 1996 and 1997. Her 1997 Stanford cross country team was the national runner-up and her 1998 team finished third.

"Beth certainly is a national figure and one with the ability to continue a tradition of excellence at Penn State," associate athletic director Ellen Perry says. "Her international and national credentials plus her background in the Big Ten are a perfect fit for us."

A 1989 University of Minnesota graduate who was a three-year team captain for the Gophers, Alford-Sullivan moved to Stanford after serving as head coach of women's track and field and cross country for two years at Mankato State.

She was the head coach of the men's and women's cross country teams and an assistant track and field coach at Southeast Missouri State University from 1991 to 1993 and a graduate assistant coach at Southern Illinois.

She completed her undergraduate degree at Minnesota in youth studies then earned a master's degree in sports administration from Southern Illinois in 1993.

Alford-Sullivan coached the 1997 U.S. World Junior Cross Country team which competed in Italy. In 1994, she was named the head coach of the U.S. women's distance running team that finished fourth among 20 teams at the Beijing International Women's Ekiden.

In 1995, she was an assistant track and field coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival in Colorado Springs. She currently is the president of the NCAA Women's Cross Country Association, a member of the USA Track and Field Cross Country Committee and an executive member of the USA Track and Field Coaches Association and the US Women's Track Coaches Association.

She has coached 31 All-Americans including Stanford's Monal Chokshi who won the NCAA and Pac 10 titles in the 3000 meters in 1998. Her cross country runners at Stanford earned five top 10 NCAA finishes.

She is married to Jim Sullivan, a strength coach at Stanford.

Dayna Holston
Assistant Coach
Field Events

Former Lady Lion captain Dayna Holston was named assistant coach at her alma mater in September 1996.

A 1995 Penn State Health/Physical Education graduate, Holston twice qualified for the NCAA Championships in the javelin during her career with the Lady Lions.

While competing for Trinity High School in Washington, Pa., she was ranked third in the nation with a throw of 155'6". Holston finished fourth at the 1991 Junior National Championship, she was coached by Penn State former All-American Elaine Sobansky.

She finished third in the javelin at the 1992 Big Ten Championships and threw a best of 162-0 to win Raleigh Relays and earn provisional qualification in the javelin. She then went on to take 11th place at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas

In 1993, she threw another lifetime best of 164-1 in a home meet to earn provisional qualifying status and then finished third in the NCAA Championship in New Orleans. She was one place out of being an All-American. She was fifth at the Big Ten Championships.

She also was the 1989 and 1990 Pa. State Bowling Champion, with a high game of 285.

She is currently pursuing a masters degree from Penn State in education. This past summer, Holston completed her Level I and Level II coaches certification.

Assistant Coach Tonya Lee

The Lady Lions have yet another new addition to the coaching staff. In her first season at Penn State, Assistant Coach Tonya Lee will be extending her expertese to the hurdlers, jumpers and sprinters. Prior to making the coaching move, Lee coached men's and women's jumpers and hurdlers at Kent State University in Ohio for three seasons. During her tenure at Kent, several athletes under her direction established school records, won conference titles and qualified for the NCAA Championships.

Serving a two-year stint as an assistant women's track and field coach at her almater, the University of Tennessee, Lee played an instrumental role in the development of several NCAA champion-caliber athletes. The Lady Vol 4x100 meter relay squad, which was composed of three freshman and one sophomore, placed eighth at the NCAA Championships. In addition, a Tennessee Heptahlete finished seventh at the championships.

Lee was a four-time All-American and five-time Southeastern Conference Champion in the 400 meter hurdles and heptahlon while at Tennessee. In 1991, she set the SEC Meet Record (55.78) in the 400 meter hurdles, runner-up at the NCAA championships, and was a finalist at the TAC Championships.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1996, Lee finished seventh in the 400 meter hurdles.

A native of Mount Holly, N.J. and the youngest of twelve siblings, Lee earned her Bachalor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1993. She is a Level I USA Track and Field Certified Coach.

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