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Leopard finds his spot: Williamson to YSU
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Liberty’s Marquis Williamson takes the baton from teammate Frank Bond for the final leg of the 4x400-meter relay at the state track and field meet on June 2 at Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus. Williamson is headed to Youngstown State on a track scholarship.
By Joe Scalzo
Liberty
Toward the end of his freshman year, Liberty’s Marquis Williamson started running the 400-meter dash and quickly learned two things:
He was good at it.
He hated it.
“Coach [Jay] Cripe said to me, ‘I think you’ve got something here,’” said Williamson. “I really didn’t think about it because I hated it. I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever. I’ll keep running the 200.’”
For good middle distance runners, running the 400 is sort of like eating vegetables — you hate it at first, then grudgingly accept it because it’s good for you — and as Williamson’s times dropped, his prospects rose.
After helping the Leopards’ 4x200 and 4x400 relays advance to the state meet, Williamson appeared headed to Lake Erie College to run track. Then, at the regional meet in May, he was approached by Youngstown State’s sprints coach, David Townsend, who told Williamson he had been scouting him since the county meet.
“We kind of took it from there,” Williamson said.
Williamson finished 12th in the 400 at the state meet and helped the Leopards take fifth in the 4x400 relay, then took an official visit to YSU, where he accepted a scholarship offer.
“It was a tough decision because I like Lake Erie and what they do there, but YSU is Division I, it’s great competition and they offered me a better scholarship,” said Williamson, who is interested in criminal justice. “This gives me the opportunity to go to school for less money and run with the best of the best.”
When asked whether his improvement this year was mental or physical, he said, “I think it was a mix of everything. I knew what I had to do and it played out in my favor.”
Williamson credits his parents, Marlon (a standout basketball player for Warren Harding) and Alicia, for making the biggest impact on his career.
“They’ve been my biggest cheerleaders and they helped me train, even when I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore,” he said. “They’ve been with me through everything.
“I’ve fought injuries and a whole bunch of other stuff, so to have a track scholarship is a blessing and a big weight off my shoulders.”