Seniors Max Cleveland (left) and Ulysses Patterson (right). Photos courtesy from NWU Athletics.

Posted: May 24, 2024

Cleveland, Patterson claim Second Team All-American awards

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Max Cleveland and Ulysses Patterson both earned Second Team All-American awards on the second day of the NCAA Championships in Myrtle Beach.

Patterson claimed ninth in the decathlon, while Cleveland finished 16th in the country in the 110 meter hurdles. Both athletes now have multiple All-American honors to their name.

DECATHLON
Patterson finished in ninth overall, using a great last two events to move back up the leaderboard. The Clinton, Iowa native scored a total of 6,737 points, ranking second all-time in school history and claiming his second All-American honor. Patterson also took third in the javelin with a throw of 54.16 meters, another new personal best that ranks 10th all-time in school history.

Patterson also set a new personal best in the 1,500 meters, with a time of 4:40.98, taking fifth in the event. He becomes the sixth person in school history to win an All-American award in the decathlon.

"Ully is a great competitor and performed at or near his best marks in each event for most of the meet," said Storm associate head coach James Hoffman. "Going into the javelin he found himself in a position that he would need some big personal bests to get on the podium and he about pulled it off. To score over 6,700 points and finish ninth speaks to how deep the field was, but we are excited for another season with him next year in hopes of improving in the areas to get him on the podium."

110 METER HURDLES
Cleveland earned his third straight All-American award, as well as his second consecutive in the 110 meter hurdles. Cleveland becomes the 11th athlete in program history to earn at least three All-American honors. The local Indianola native also is the first athlete in program history to earn back-to-back All-American honors in the same event since Chip Brundage in the discus in 1997-98.

Cleveland claimed the final All-American spot by thousandths of seconds, running a time of 14.523 to cap off his Simpson career in style.

"Max has had an unbelievable career," said Hoffman. "He was dealing with a little hamstring tweak and he battled through it to capture his third All-American honor. He will go down as one of the best athletes in school history!"

UP NEXT
The Storm will have one final race in the 2023-24 season, with Spencer Moon going for another national title in the 5,000 meters, scheduled for approximately 6:25 p.m.

MEET REPORT