TOWSON, Md. – Sprinter Mike Garner became the fastest Tiger of all-time when he set the outdoor 100-meter dash record 20 years ago, a Towson University mark that, unless men's track is reinstated, will never be broken again.

The former Tiger track star will be inducted into Towson's Athletic Hall of Fame on October 18^th. Joining him in the Class of 2024 are Jerrelle Benimon (basketball), Kacy Catanzaro (gymnastics), Spiro Morekas (broadcaster), Frank Olszewski (soccer coach), Bobby Poist (football) and Brian Yaniger (golf coach). The 2012-13 men's basketball team will be honored as a Team of Distinction. The banquet will be held on campus in the University Union. Tickets are available by visiting https://towsonuniversity.regfox.com/towson-athletics-tiger-honors-hall-of-fame-induction-2024.

Mike was being recruited for his football prowess as a defensive back rather than his raw track speed. An ankle injury caused most of the schools interested in him to back off. But then Towson football coach Rob Ambrose persisted. "I told Coach Ambrose I wanted to run track too," recalls Mike who won two sprint state titles at while attending Governor Thomas Johnson High School. "He put me in touch with the track coach Roger Erricker who seemed pretty happy I'd be a member of the track team too."

Football lasted one season with Mike. In the spring of his freshman year, he won the America East Conference 100-meter dash title, the only first place for the Tigers in that championship meet. He was also named the ECAC Division I Track Athlete of the Week three times, for his performances in The Spider Relays, The Millersville Metrics and The Delaware Invite. He was also the America East Conference runner up in the indoor 55- meter and outdoor 200-meter dash titles.  "That got me really going to concentrate just on track after that," says Mike, who consistently throughout his career received encouragement from his mother and father.

Hamstring injuries hindered Mike's progress the following two years, but he credits Towson's weight training program and sports medicine staff for getting him back on the track and ready for his senior year. It paid off. In 2004 he posted a 10.46 in the 100-meter dash to capture gold in the Colonial Athletic Association championships, eclipsing Towson's program record of 10.59 by Andre Wise set nine years earlier. He was also the CAA runner up in the 200-meter dash. His 10.46 100-meter time qualified him to run at the NCAA Inaugural East Regional Championships.

Prior to the CAA meet the University announced it was suspending four men's sports including men's indoor and outdoor track, catching a lot of athletes off guard, including Mike who also owned Towson's indoor records in the 55m (6.39), 60m (6.89) and indoor 200m (21.53) dashes. "We were all kind of shocked about that," he says.

Mike had a redshirt year left following the announcement. With his undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Towson under his arm he made his way to George Mason as a graduate student. He competed one year for the Patriots, winning the CAA 100-meter dash for a second straight year in a personal best time of 10.40 and won the 200 CAA meter dash. He followed up that win and won both IC4A 100m (10.51 seconds) and 200m dash (20.90 seconds) titles. His 200-meter time of 20.90 seconds landed Mike on the formerly known International Amateur Athletics Federations (IAAF) 2005 world's best times list. Shortly afterwards Mike retired from running. He embarked on his career in the Information Assurance field as an Information Systems Security Manager for Leidos.

In August 2022, Mike suffered a stroke but like he had so many times previously, he bounced back. He previously coached for a youth track and field club. He is competing in the International Fitness and Bodybuilding (IFBB) Pro League in the Men's Physique Division.