UMass Boston

There is no shortage of great athletes that have come out of theUMass Boston women's track and field program. Michele Williamscontinues an annual trend of being named to this year's Hall ofFame class. The two-time All-American was the first great hurdlerfor the women's program, winning the national indoor title in the55-meter hurdles as a freshman in 1985 with a time of 8.31 andfinishing third in the same event at the 1986 NCAA indoorchampionships with a mark of 8.36. Williams was an integral part ofthe 1984-85 team's first indoor national championship in 1985 andhad an outstanding year, winning four individual indoor titles andone outdoor title that season, including the ECAC indoor crown inthe 50-meter hurdles with a time of 7.05. Head Coach Sherman Hartcalled her his toughest and gutsiest athlete following her secondseason that saw her compete, despite being injured. Williams stillachieved All-New England and All-ECAC status in both the 55 and100-meter hurdles and helped the Beacons become the first team inNCAA history to win both the indoor and outdoor nationalchampionships in 1986. She captured the 1986 ECAC 55-meter hurdlesindoor crown with a time of 8.36 and followed that accomplishmentwith first place at the New England championships with aschool-record time of 8.27 in the 55-meter hurdles. Williams alsofinished third in the 1986 ECAC 100-meter outdoor race with a timeof 15.45 and later went on to graduate from UMass Boston in1995.