The 38th annual Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, Nov. 12. Eight individuals and two teams will be honored, bringing the total number of inductees to 253. Every day leading up to the induction, a different member of the Class of 2016 will be profiled on GoJaspers.com.
Michael Williams '95 (Men's Track & Field)
Sponsored by Dan Mecca
Over its illustrious, 100-year history, the Manhattan College track & field program has won an NCAA title and produced 12 NCAA Champions in an individual event or relay. One of those individual NCAA Champions is Michael Williams, Class of 1995.
At the 1995 NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, he posted a time of 1:48.27 in the preliminary round of the 800 meters, breaking the school record and qualifying for the final. In the final, he made the risky decision to run from the front. (“If they're gonna beat me, they're gonna have to catch me,” he said before the race.) The strategy worked. Williams immediately broke for the inside and held the lead the entire way. With a 1:48.12 clocking, he bettered his own school mark and became the Jaspers' first NCAA Champion in seven years. Williams then went on to earn a top-10 finish at that year's NCAA Outdoor Championships.
A native of Jamaica, he came to Manhattan after first being spotted at the 1990 World Junior Championships in Bulgaria. And once on campus, his impact was immediate. Williams competed in all track events up to 1500 meters, as well as cross country, regularly scoring in each.
He was a key member of the 1992 IC4A championship team, contributing points in the 800 and 4x400 meter relay. Williams also won Metropolitan titles in the 500 and 800 meters, as well as the 4x400 and 4x800 meter relays, and he ran the second leg on Manhattan's 4x400 relay squad that took third in the Championship of America at the 1993 Penn Relays. At the 1995 IC4A Indoor Championships, held just a week before the NCAA Championships, Williams finished second in the 500.
Upon returning to Riverdale after winning his NCAA title, he noticed TV trucks in the Draddy Gymnasium parking lot and wondered if they were there to interview him. Always down-to-earth, his reaction when he found out it was actually for the men's basketball team, which had just received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, was , “OK, can we go get dinner now?”
Well, Mike, this time they are here for you. Welcome to the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame.
