Michael Allen ‘13, a liberal arts major with minors in Spanish and music, is a Fork Union, Virginia, native who leaped into EMU and its record books after having competed in track and field at Louisa County High School. A standout jumper and sprinter for the Royals between 2009 and 2013, Allen qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships three times and was an 11-time All-ODAC performer in the triple jump and long jump.
In 2009, Allen set EMU records for the indoor triple jump (14.43m) and indoor long jump (7m), and in 2010, he set the university record for the outdoor triple jump (14.85m) and tied the outdoor long jump record (7.26m) set by Jim Herr ‘79; those records still hold today. Allen also stands in the Top 10 in program history for the indoor high jump (1.92m), the indoor 55m dash (6.76s), and the outdoor 200m dash (22.3s).
Allen was twice named ODAC Rookie of the Year in 2009 (indoor and outdoor); he was also selected as Male Athlete of the Meet at the ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2009 and 2011. Allen qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships (indoor and outdoor in triple jump and long jump in 2009 and outdoor in triple jump in 2010).
A 2013 Cords of Distinction recipient, Allen said he was able to reshape who he was at EMU through track, music, and meeting people. “It really brought me out of my shell.” Allen is currently the lead musician at Harvest Church of God in Charlottesville and continues to play bass at his home House of God church in Gordonsville, Virginia.
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