CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan men's track and field hurdler Almighty Williamson was named Men's Most Co-Outstanding Track Performer as the Mid-American Conference announced its specialty awards from the 2024 MAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Wednesday, May 15.
 
Beyond Williamson (Baltimore, Md./Digital Harbor/Barton C.C.), both the men's and women's teams saw seven student-athletes earn All-MAC honors.  
 
Williamson's award comes after he broke his own program record in the 110m hurdles, running the distance in a blazing 13.53, shaving .12 seconds off his previous record. Not only did the senior's time break the Eastern program record, but also set a MAC Outdoor Championships record as he bested the previous fastest time (13.60) set in 1999. His time currently stands as the 25th-fastest in the nation.
 
Williamson's award marks the third consecutive time a member of the Eagles' male squad has taken home the hardware as EMU great Baldvin Magnusson took home the award following the 2022 and 2023 meets. Prior to the previous three years, the last time Eastern garnered the accolade in three consecutive seasons came from 2002-04 when one-time Eagles Nduka Awazie, Boaz Cheboiywo, and Jordan Desilets did so.

"It was great to see Almighty win another MAC title. I know that it meant a lot to him to perform well for the team in his last MAC meet. We're excited to see him continue on to the NCAA East First Round," said Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Sue Parks. 

"What an incredible performance for Almighty. He always shows up at the biggest competitions, so there was no doubt he was going to perform well, but to run the fastest time in school and MAC Outdoor Championships history really put a cherry on top of his stellar Eastern career. We're so proud of Almighty and all he's accomplished," said Associate Head Coach/Hurdles Sterling Roberts. 
 
Joining Williamson as All-MAC First Team members from the men's team is Formula Thompson (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Jamaica College/Nebraska), who took home gold in the triple jump with a bound of 15.57m (51-01.00), the sixth-best leap in EMU history. He also became the first Eagle to win the event since United States Olympian and EMU alum Donald Scott did so in 2015.
 
Also earning a first team nod is Linus Vennemann (Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany/Gymnasium "In der Wüste"), who placed first in the 3,000m steeplechase in a personal-best 9:01.26, while Ryan Johnson (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) won the hammer throw with a 65.17m (213-09) heave prior to being tabbed Freshman Field Performer of the Year after the meet's conclusion.
 
Ronnie Brandal (Huron, Ohio/Huron), Gabe Singh (Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Northview/Oakland), and Jake McEachern (Lloydminster, Alberta/Lloydminster Comprehensive) each captured second-team honors as Brandal notched a second-place finish in the 800m run in 1:53.00 and McEachern grabbed silver in the hammer throw with a 61.16 (208-10) personal-best mark. All three second team members scored eight points throughout the three-day contest.
 
Kyra Buffen (Columbus, Ga./Buford/Benedict) was the lone first team selection for the Eastern women as she joined Thompson from the men's team as the triple jump champ with a personal-best 12.64m (41-05.75) leap, marking the fourth-farthest in program history and the first time the EMU women won the triple jump at the outdoor championships since 1999.
 
Paige Marchant (London, Ontario/Catholic Central), Alyson Davis (Summerfield, N.C./Weaver Academy for Performing and Visual Arts), Saraiah Walkes (Manatee County, Fla./The-Out-of-Door-Academy), Makiya Worthy (Federal Way, Was./Federal Way/St. Martin's/Oakland), Josephine Oloye (Iwaro-Oka, Nigeria/Geomi Secondary School/Tayelolu Memorial), and Esme Davies (Lake District, England/Queen Elizabeth Grammar School) all landed spots on the second team for the women.
 
Walkes' 17-point meet was highlighted by a third-place effort in the 100m dash in 11.51, a time that stands as a career-best for the junior and ranks her sixth all-time at EMU. Like Davis, she also competed on the second-place 4x100m team as the second leg.
 
Davies scored 16 points at the meet with two second-place outings. She finished the 5,000m run in 16:36.91 and the 10,000m in 34:38.00.
 
Marchant placed second in the 1,500m run with in 4:29.30 while Davis ran the lead leg of the 4x100m relay that also placed second in 45.28, a time that stands seventh in the program's top-10 leaderboards.
 
Worthy played a pivotal role in the relay teams as she ran on both the 4x100m squad and the 4x400m team who finished in sixth-place in 3:47.64. Oloye also ran on both relay teams and finished sixth in the 400m dash finals in 55.04, concluding her meet with 14 points.
 
Up Next 
Select Eagles will advance to the NCAA East Prelims hosted by the University of Kentucky in Lexington Wednesday-Saturday, May 22-25.
 
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MAC Specialty Awards and All-MAC Teams
 
Men's Most Co-Outstanding Track Performers
Almighty Williamson, Eastern Michigan, Grad Student
Jaheim Jones, Kent State, Grad Student
 
Men's Most Outstanding Field Performer
Jonathan Surdej, Buffalo, Senior
 
Men's Assistant Coach of the Year
Jim Garnham Sr., Buffalo, Throws
 
Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer
Joy Nwokike, Akron, Junior
 
Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer
Jenelle Rogers, Ball State, Senior
 
Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
Michael Schober, Kent State, Sprints

Men's First Team All-MAC
Brian Masai, Akron
Timothy Chesondin, Akron
Charles Sanders, Akron
Jimmy Harkelroad, Akron
Tysean Baronette, Akron
AJ Jordan, Akron
Hunter Garretson, Akron
Dimitrije Novakovic, Akron
Owen Wendl, Akron
Jonathan Surdej, Buffalo
Almighty Williamson, Eastern Michigan
Linus Vennemann, Eastern Michigan
Alexander Thompson, Eastern Michigan
Ryan Johnson, Eastern Michigan
Jaheim Jones, Kent State
Quintin Cooks, Kent State
Ayden Bath, Kent State
Logan Doyle, Kent State
Sean Callahan Jr, Kent State
Dejon Manning, Kent State
Liam Vinskovich, Kent State
Aaron Schmook, Kent State
 
Men's Second Team All-MAC
Josiah Cox, Akron
Davis Hedrick, Akron
Braylyn Farrington, Akron
Tal Hamel, Buffalo
Evan Hilbert, Buffalo
Kevin Gabalski, Buffalo
Ronald Brandal, Eastern Michigan
Gabriel Singh, Eastern Michigan
Jake McEachern, Eastern Michigan
Layne Studer, Kent State
Del'Mario Hairston, Kent State
Alexandre Malanda, Kent State
Scott Benco, Kent State
Petros Sanchez, Miami
Logan Vowles, Miami
Micah Schuster, Miami
Leo Bouldin, Miami
Ibukunoluwa Alfred, Miami
Joy Valeski, Miami
 
Women's First Team All-MAC
Joy Nwokike, Akron
Makayla Sumrall, Ball State
Alana Springer, Ball State
Jenelle Rogers Ball State
Moriah Johnson, Ball State
Mateya Haintz, Bowling Green
Zahra Amos, Buffalo
Jenna Reid, Buffalo
Kyra Buffen, Eastern Michigan
Amryne Chilton, Kent State
Ruby Greenwood, Kent State
Taylor Korytkowski, Kent State
Jericha Petrella, Kent State
Gabby Bailey, Kent State
Mia Boule, Miami
Laura Nicholson, Toledo
Mercy Kinyanjui, Toledo
Mabinty Kebe, Western Michigan
Kayla Schiera, Western Michigan
 
Women's Second Team All-MAC
Mary Munga, Akron
Janay Bass, Akron
Jamari Davis, Akron
Maddie Heimlich, Akron
Makenna Heimlich, Akron
Cassidy Allen, Akron
Bianca Staples, Bowling Green
Scilla Benussi, Buffalo
Payton Sabourin, Central Michigan
Anya Turner, Central Michigan
Paige Marchant, Eastern Michigan
Alyson Davis, Eastern Michigan
Saraiah Walkes, Eastern Michigan
Makiya Worthy, Eastern Michigan
Josephine Oloye, Eastern Michigan
Esme Davies, Eastern Michigan
Aliesha Shaw, Kent State
Grace Luther, Kent State
Arianna Calloway, Northern Illinois
Nora Hark, Toledo
Sandra Ferrari, Western Michigan