Staff Directory

Alex Gochenour-Brondyke

Title:
Assistant Coach
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Alex Gochenour-Brondyke closed her third season as an assistant track and field coach in 2026 after being elevated from a volunteer coach in January 2024. Gochenour-Brondyke works with sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and multi-event athletes.

Leading the training of hurdlers, the 2026 season saw breakthroughs as the 60m hurdles school record that stood since 2001 was broken by not one, but two Cyclones. Alec Carr ended the season as the record holder in both 60m and 110m hurdles, and went on to qualify for NCAA West Prelims in 110m and 400m hurdles.

The coach helped bring ISU sprinting to the national spotlight as Mikey McClain became the first Cyclone man to advance to nationals in the 200m since 1928. McClain broke the outdoor 200m record that stood since 1995, and came .001 second off the Big 12 title.

Under her and Kurtis Brondyke's leadership, Rachel Joseph closed her legendary Cyclone career as an eight-time All-American, four-time Big 12 champ, the owner of seven school records, USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Regional Track AOTY (2025) and Iowa State Female AOTY (2024-25).

The 2024 season was historic for the group Gochenour-Brondyke oversees as Sydney Willits took the NCAA title in the indoor long jump, while Willits and Joseph qualified for U.S. Olympic Trials. Willits moved onto the long jump final while Joseph, a sophomore, came up on spot short of advancing to the 400m final after hitting the Olympic Standard in both the first round (50.92) and semifinals (50.74).

Also in 2024, Cyclones Gochenour-Brondyke helps lead totaled 25 additions to the all-time performance list including school records by Joseph in the indoor 400m, outdoor 400m, outdoor 200m and Willits in the pentathlon and indoor long jump.

Gochenour-Brondyke came to Iowa State following two seasons with the University of Central Missouri as a graduate assistant. Here she worked primarily with hurdlers and jumpers, helping lead nine to NCAA National Championships.

As a multi-event athlete competing for Arkansas, Gochenour-Brondyke became a six-time All-American throughout the pentathlon and heptathlon. She owns a heptathlon PR of 6,027 points to rank second in Arkansas history and pentathlon PR of 4,430. Gochenour-Brondyke spent her freshman season at LSU, going down as the eighth-ranked pentathlete and 10th-ranked heptathlete in program history.

Gochenour-Brondyke also competed in the 2016 US Olympic Trials, finishing 13th in the heptathlon putting up 5,794 points. At the 2017 USA National Championships, Gochenour-Brondyke took fourth in the heptathlon with 6,129 points.

Gochenour-Brondyke earned her bachelor’s degree from Arkansas and her master’s from the University of Central Missouri. The All-American hails from Missouri Valley, Iowa. She is married to associate head coach Kurtis Brondyke.