Matadi Set to Compete at Rio Olympics

To say that sprinter Emmanuel Matadi is well traveled would be an understatement.

Minnesota State’s national champion has had an interesting journey that will culminate in August, as he becomes the first Maverick to compete in the Summer Olympics. Matadi, native of Liberia (a country located on the west African coast), will compete in the 100-meter dash event after setting a Liberian record with a time of 10.14.

Nina Tikkinen, Emila Andersson and David Backes, are former Maverick student-athletes who have competed in the Winter Olympics. Tikkinen was a member of the Finnish women’s hockey team in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, while Andersson played with the Swedish women’s hockey team at the 2010 in Vancouver and 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Backes, the former captain of the St. Louis Blues, represented Team USA in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, as well.

Matadi, who moved to Minnesota in sixth grade, has seen success at every level, beginning with a Minnesota state high school championship in the 100m in 2009 at St. Paul Johnson High School. From there, he would go on to claim junior college All-American honors as he competed in the 4x100m and 4x400 relay events in 2011 at the national championship as a member of the track & field teams at Butler (Kan.) Community College.

After a stint at Louisville, Emmanuel made his way to Minnesota State for the 2014-15 season where he rewrote the Maverick record books. In one season Matadi set a pair of indoor records (60m/6.66 & 200m/21.10), to go along with outdoor records in the 100m (10.19) and the 4x100 relay (40.15). His season culminated in a pair of NCAA Division II outdoor track & field championships in the 100m and 200m events.

He’s now preparing to head to Rio de Janeiro where he’ll compete against the best sprinters in the world.

Ten Questions with Emmanuel Matadi

How did you arrive at Minnesota State?

I was a transfer from Louisville. One of my best friends - Jared Gillespie - convinced me to take a tour of the school and I really was impressed with Coach Dilling and Coach Parno.

What was it like competing with the Mavericks during the 2014-15 season?

If was fun. It was probably the most fun I’ve had in a season. Everyone was so focused and I think that was what helped me win nationals. The team and the coaches were so supportive.

What are some of your highlights as a Maverick?

Breaking the school record and winning nationals in the 100 and 200. Winning conference championships.

How long have you competed in track and field events?

Since my junior year in high school so probably around 16. I was always a sprinter.

Tell us about your connection to Liberia?

I was born in Liberia and my whole family is from Liberia. I came over to the US when I was seven. I lived in California for a few years before moving to Minnesota when I was in sixth grade.

What was it like to qualify for the Olympics after setting a new record for Liberia in the 100m?

It was a great feeling. I have been training for so long to get that moment so when it happened it was great.

Has reaching the Olympics always been one of your goals since day one or did this come about as you continued to improve?

When I realized how much I was progressing that‘s when it became more of a goal. When I got to college it became a real goal

What are you most looking forward to in Rio?

The high-level talent and the competing with the world’s best athletes.

Who has been your biggest inspiration and why?

My parents (Jacob and Florence). They showed me how to work hard. When they came over to the states they had nothing but they worked hard and I learned from their work ethic.

What are your plans after the Olympics conclude?

After the season is over I’ll take a break but I’ll get back to training for the world championships next season and then hopefully get back to the Olympics in 2020.

Williams Hurdling Her Way to Success

 

Minnesota State's Altoniece Williams established a
school record in the 60m hurdles this year

8.36 seconds.

That’s all it took for Altoniece Williams to break her school record in the 60-meter hurdles. And on the cusp of the NCAA Division II national championships, that performance ranks as the second-fastest time in nation.

A sophomore at Minnesota State who is pursuing a major in criminal law and corrections, Williams is a Miami, Fla., native which most everyone one would know, is more than 1,700 miles from Mankato.

Following high school, Williams spent a year at Iowa Central College running track where she caught the eye of Chris Parno, who coaches Minnesota State’s sprinters and hurdlers.  

 “Altoniece came to Minnesota State for a track meet last season as a member of the Iowa Central team and then I saw her at two other track meets. I also know her junior college coach which made it easy to recruit her here.”

“I wanted to experience something new and different,” said Williams about venturing northward from the Sunshine State. Intent on experiencing something different and getting away from the heat of Miami, Williams points out that while she’s experienced success on the track, she also enjoys her time in Minnesota. “I really enjoy the snow and the weather. I had never experienced snow until I went to Iowa. I made snow angels and snow balls and even tasted the snow when I saw it for the first time.”

Concentrating being the best that she can be as a well-rounded student-athlete, Williams does not do much outside of track and school work.

Jen Blue, the who was named 2016 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Women’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year after leading the Mavericks to the league team title appreciates what Williams has contributed to the program in her first year in Mankato.

“Altoniece is a team player and leads by example. She has a solid work ethic and works hard every day at what she does,” said Blue. “Not only do her coaches know how hard she works, but she knows if she puts in the time and effort she will see the results she has been hoping for.

“I push myself to try and get better every day,” said Williams. “My goal is to be number one and it is always great to break my own records, but I also try to improve myself each week.”

Williams competed in the 200 meters, the 60-meter hurdles, and the 4x4 relay at this year’s indoor conference meet a post personal bests of 8.36 in the 60m hurdles and the in the 200m (:25.00).

The Mavericks compete in the NCAA DII championship meet March 11-12 in Pittsburg, Kan., where Williams will make her national debut.

Contributed by Shelbie Werden, Athletic Communications Intern

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Multi-Tasking

Paul Selman (right) leads Minnesota State with 23 wins

Being a student-athlete is one busy lifestyle.  You go to school as a full-time student, you practice for your respective sport every day, you’re on the road constantly for competition, and you try and balance a social life on top of all of that.  Now take that into perspective, and imagine if you did not just one, but two sports as a student-athlete.

It’s a rare feat that not many people have done historically, especially in modern times.  Dave Winfield, Jackie Robinson, Jim Brown, Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson and Jim Thorpe are just a few notable athletes to have participated in multiple sports at a high level.

There have been several athletes at Minnesota State that have played more than one sport including the likes of Chris Reed (football, track), Keyvan Rudd (football, track), Nathan Hancock (football, track), Sidni Trotter (soccer, women’s basketball), Jenna Peterson (hockey, softball), Kelvin Rodgers (football, track,), Ben King (football, baseball), Michael Lawrence (football, track), Donnell Bowyer (football, baseball), Jared Ziemke (football, basketball), Ryan Dutton (football, baseball),  Lester Mitchell (basketball, track), Tywan Mitchell (football, basketball), Monte Dufault (basketball, baseball), Nancy Kelly (volleyball, softball), Luonna Van Meveran (volleyball, track), Mike Yonkey (football, track), Joel Nielsen (football, baseball),  Mike Carroll (hockey, baseball) and Gene Glynn (basketball, baseball). 

It's possible that from the list above, you might notice that there aren’t any track and wrestling combos.  Until now.

“It’s been roughly 20 years since we have had a multi-sport athlete of any kind on our team," said Jim Makovsky, who’s in his 23^rd season in charge of the Minnesota State wrestling program. “It’s rare enough that you see a multi-sport athlete in football and track, let alone wrestling and track,” 

The wrestling and track student-athlete Makovsky is referencing one of his current team members in Paul Selman.

A native of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Selman attended Glenbard West High School, where he exceled in not one, not two, but three sports -  soccer, wrestling, and track.  After graduating, he enrolled in nearby Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., where he was a member of the soccer and track programs at the NCAA Division III level.  Selman had a tremendous freshman season, attaining  indoor and outdoor track and field all-conference honors in the 100-meter dash while qualifying and competing at the 2015 NCAA DIII national outdoor track and field championships.

While participating in soccer and track, Selman missed participating in his third sport from high school, wrestling.  It was at that time that he met two of the coaches from the Minnesota State wrestling team in Makovsky and assistant coach Marc Harwood, who helped him get back into the sport he loved and missed so much.  Agreeing to transfer to Minnesota State to participate in track, Selman would then switch his second sport from soccer to wrestling. 

He currently leads Minnesota State in his freshman year with the Mavericks with 23 wins, while holding a 23-9 record overall while wrestling at 133 for the 14-rated Mavericks.

 “Paul is learning a lot this year since coming back to wrestling. He’s a great athlete, a hard worker, and he’s gone on to have a steady season,” said Makovsky.

While competing at the college level in sports that run concurrently poses challenges, Selman feels that in his instance, track and wrestling complement each other fairly well, albeit with some adjustments.

 “In wrestling, you run a lot, so it helps keeps me in shape going into track in the spring, and the same goes with track complementing wrestling.  I had to get out of any procrastination habits I had and get all of my homework done ahead of time.  Time management has been key for me, and I couldn’t do it without the support from my teammates and coaches”, Selman explains.”

He also said that due to the timing of practices and competition, his primary focus during the winter will be limited to wrestling, but would plan on competing in the outdoor track season.

In the meantime, there's the matter at hand with the conclusion of the wrestling season drawing near with regional and, hopefully, national tournament competition slated. The Minnesota State men's outdoor track and field season begins near the end of March. It's likely Mr. Selman has that date written down on his busy schedule. 

                             contributed by Cameron Klade, Minnesota State Athletic Communications Intern

   

Leadership and Courage

 

MSC's Henry Hill (left) was named Most Outstanding Athlete
at the 1966 Northern Intercollegiate Conference Outdoor
Track & Field Championship

It’s been nearly five decades since he laid foot in Mankato, but Henry Hill, Jr. is still remembered not only for his athletic prowess, but also for his ability to lead his teammates and peers alike.   

Born in Anoka, Minn., on July 23rd, 1944, to Henry Sr. and Albertha Hill, Henry attended Anoka High School where he served as the school’s first black President of the Senior Class.  Following graduation in 1962, he headed south of the Twin Cities where he joined his fellow student-athletes at Mankato State. 

Participating in multiple events, the three-time letter winner with the school's track teams, Hill led MSC (the school was known as Mankato State College when he attended) in individual points scored over the three seasons of his career from 1964-66.   He helped the Purple and Gold to an 8-1 dual record and a North Central Conference indoor team title in 1964, winning the league 60-yard high hurdles championship and finishing second in the 60-yard low hurdles in the process.  In establishing a meet record, he won the outdoor conference triple jump crown that year, as well.  As team captain as a senior, he led the Mavericks to another team title the following year by scoring an astounding 204 points all by himself in being named the NIC’s Most Outstanding Outdoor Track & Field Athlete. He was also named Mankato State’s Most Outstanding Athlete in 1966.  

Undoubtedly a tremendous athlete, it was Hill’s leadership, demeanor and his presence that made an impression on people.

Legendary Bud Myers, Hill’s track and field coach, was a man not usually prone to hyperbole, but in describing how he felt that his student-athlete said “Henry Hill was a credit to the human race. Not only his race, but the human race.”

Former Minnesota State track and field athlete and men's cross country/track & field coach Mark Schuck said that Hill was the most outstanding athlete MSC had during that time.  “He was the captain on the team my freshman and sophomore years. I can’t say enough about his athletic ability."  Schuck, who was inducted into the Minnesota State Hall of Fame in 2014 following his retirement, felt Hill’s role with the team was one of the keys to its success. “Henry got along with everybody and he was just a great gentleman and loved competition. And he was a guy that commanded respect. We didn’t have the decathlon at the time, but there is no doubt that if we had, he would have been one of the all-time best in that event.”   

In a time where America’s culture and society were in a transitional state, Hill also made an impression on the people of Mankato.  “Like most of America in the 1960’s, Mankato was in a transition period and wasn’t really receptive to the transition it was going through with African-Americans during that time,” said Obie Kipper, another Minnesota State Hall of Fame inductee (1990) from the school’s track and field program. “Henry was a man of integrity who stood up for what he believed in.” 

Kipper, a 1970 MSC graduate, described Hill as “the perfect gentleman” and “a man who any parent could be proud of.”  Kipper was being recruited to Mankato State for track and field as a sprinter as a high school senior when Hill was a senior for the Indians.  “Henry was a stupendous athlete, as well as a student.  He understood what it meant to be a student-athlete.  He set examples for those who knew him and was a very personal guy.”  Hill’s personality and leadership definitely made an impression on Kipper during his recruitment trip as he says that was one of the main reasons why he decided to attend Mankato State College. 

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Hill was drafted into the United States Army.  He enrolled to become a candidate in officer school and was later named a second lieutenant.  Two years after he graduated from Mankato State College, Henry married his wife, Rita, in 1968, six days before starting his United States military tour overseas in Vietnam with the first infantry division.  Henry’s leadership qualities stood out as he was awarded the title of Infantry Unit Commander.  On August 23rd, 1968, almost exactly two months after shipping out for his tour, Henry was killed by a grenade in Quan Ngai, South Vietnam. He was 24 years old. 

Schuck said “Henry Hill will always be remembered as just a good athlete, a good gentleman, with good character and strong convictions. We wanted him as our captain. He was a great leader on the track and off the track”.  

After Hill’s death his body was sent to Franklin, La., to be buried next to his father’s. He is honored on Panel 47W, Row 45 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 

      Contributed by Seth C. Allan, Athletic Communications Student Intern