ROCHESTER, Mich. -- Top track and field athletes Jimmie Williams, Marcus Nellum, Maddi Leigh, and Gabby Cyriax have decided to return for a fifth year of eligibility. 

Williams earned many top honors last season, including ​​the Alfreeda Goff Outdoor Track and Field Men's Athlete of the Year award and the Horizon League Men's Indoor Championship Outstanding Performer Award. 

At the 2021 Horizon League Indoor Championships, Williams swept the competition, taking first place in all three events he ran. In the 200m, Williams ran a 21.85 after running a 22.00 in the primaries. Williams held onto his 2019 and 2020 title of 400m champion, winning this year with a time of 48.05. Completing his sweep, Williams ran the fourth leg in the 4x400, and the team took first place with a time of 3:20.05, making this his second year as 4x400 champion.

The results did not plateau for Williams during the outdoor season as he broke several school records. His first outdoor record was at the Elaine Leigh Track and Field Invitational, where he broke the 400 record with a time of 46.88 and is the only Oakland athlete to ever run the 400 in under 47 seconds.

Williams qualified for the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries in the 400 and broke his own school record with a time of 46.29. In the 400 quarterfinals, he ran his second-fastest time and finished 16th with a time of 46.67. He was the first Oakland sprinter to make it to the quarterfinal round of preliminaries. Williams completed his season with a United Wholesale Mortgage Athlete of the Week award and Nike Horizon League Men's Runner of the Week award.

"I still think I have a lot to prove and more goals to accomplish. My main goal is to make it to nationals for both indoor and outdoor seasons. I hope to get stronger and break my PR 400 time which is a 46.29 by a second or 1/2 second," Williams said. 
 

Marcus Nellum also saw top marks last season as he crushed the school record at the Toledo Rocket Invitational, taking more than half a second off the previous time and finishing in 52.22.

At the Grizzly PR Classic, Nellum broke the school record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.71, which helped earn him Horizon League Men's Runner of the Week along with his time of 53.64 in the 400 hurdles. 

Nellum then qualified NCAA East Regional Preliminaries and earned 52.68, his second-fastest time in the 400 hurdles, and finished in 39th place.

"The jobs not finished. My hope for this season is to accomplish all the goals I set for myself while supporting my team the best way I can," Nellum said. 
 

Maddi Leigh was named Horizon League Women's Runner of the Week twice during last season. She first earned this award after finishing first in the 800m with a time of 2:15.97 at the Mastodon Opener. 

The 800 runner also earned this title again for her performance at the Grizzly PR Classic. Leigh took second place in the 800 with a time of 2:13.70, placing first in the league at the time and just narrowly missing the school record. She also placed fifth in the 1500 (4:46.54).

Not to be left out on breaking school records, at the Hillsdale Last-Chance Classic, Leigh broke the school record taking third in the 800 with a time of 2:12.92.

"My hope for indoor and outdoor track is to win the horizon league championships, contribute as much as I can to the team score, enjoy the workout grind with my middle distance squad, and enjoy my last go around with some of my best friends," said Leigh. 
 

Thrower Gabby Cyriax recorded a personal best in the javelin with a distance of 94 f.t, 8 in. At the Horizon League Outdoor Championship, Cyriax finished fifth in the hammer throw (150 ft., 4 in.) and 12th in the discus (123 ft., 1 in.). 

"I decided to come back partly because I love this team and the people I get to surround myself with daily. But I also came back because I felt like I had unfinished business. I didn't like how I ended my season last year and felt this was a great opportunity to rebuild and end on the right note. This season I'm hoping to make more memories that last a lifetime, improve my competition performances, and to be happy with how I end my athletic career," Cyriax said.