VESTAL, N.Y. – For Emily Mackay and the Binghamton Division of Athletics, Monday was a significant day.
Mackay was making her first trip back to her alma mater since competing at the Paris Olympics in the women's 1,500 last summer. She was the featured speaker at the 20th Annual Celebrating Women's Athletic Luncheon (CWAL) at the Events Center, an event which drew over 900 attendees.
Mackay – who is the first Binghamton alum to be the featured speaker at the CWAL event – graduated as a five-time track and cross country All-American and has become one of the top women's middle distance runners in the nation. This past summer, she qualified for the Paris Olympics in the women's 1,500 and advanced to the semifinal round. Earlier in the year, Mackay was the bronze medalist in the 1,500 at the World Indoor Championships.
Mackay's illustrious running career started at nearby Union-Endicott High School, where she graduated in 2016. She set the New York State Section 4 records in both the 1,500 and 3,000 and qualified for the 2014 Nike National Cross Country Meet.
In 2017, Mackay transferred to Binghamton from Oregon State, where she had attended as a freshman. Three years later, she earned the first of her five United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-America honors when she placed 14th overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. From there, Mackay earned four All-America honors in track & field and capped her collegiate career with a sixth-place finish in the 1,500 at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Since signing professionally with New Balance Boston in June 2022, Mackay's career has continued to blossom. In 2023, she became just the 13th American female to break the four-minute mark in the 1,500. Her current lifetime best time of 3:55.90 ranks third all time in U.S. Women's Track & Field history.
Monday morning for Mackay began at 9 a.m. with a ceremony in the TAU Room. Local dignitaries issued proclamations that were read at the event and Mackay addressed the local media, university staff and others who were at the event. She then conducted her first in-person press conference with the Binghamton media since before the U.S. Olympic Trials last June.
"I woke this morning with so much gratitude, and I am so excited to be back here at Binghamton," she said. "I have so many amazing memories from my time here, and I am so thankful to be from nearby Endicott, New York and to have gone to college here at Binghamton University. The community here means so much to me, so to be here today and see so many familiar people has me super excited, and it's going to be a super fun day."
Following a meet-and-greet with members of the local community, it was time for Mackay to deliver her speech to the sold out crowd at the CWAL event. In her speech, she reflected on her collegiate career and her path to becoming an Olympian. By her own admission, Mackay was not as driven to succeed when she transferred from Oregon State in 2017. That changed, however, as she began to observe how her teammates approached things.
"I saw how my teammates approached their lives with intention and I asked myself what would happen if I did the same," she said. "I stopped settling for good and started trying to be great. I became closer friends with my dedicated teammates, and I started spending more time in the training room after practice instead of rushing right home. I also started studying harder. I went from a B student to a straight A student. Each little accomplishment was so rewarding and it helped keep me on this path to becoming the best version of myself."
At the end of her speech Mackay delivered a message to the attendees.
"Go all in," she said. "Join me on this path to become the best version of yourself. Put your all into everything you do and don't be afraid of failure. I used to think that making the Olympics was just the pinnacle. Now I know it's just the beginning."
Mackay was preceded at the CWAL event by current Binghamton women's soccer student-athlete Isabella Martillo. She too reflected on her career at Binghamton as well as her role as a female student-athlete.
"Being a female student-athlete means embracing both the challenges and achievements that come with competing in a space that demands resilience, strength and determination," she said. "It means pushing past barriers - whether that is societal expectation, physical limits or moments of doubt. It means lifting up those who come after us and showing that women belong in every arena."
Also addressing the crowd on Monday afternoon was Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger. He took time to thank the attendees for their support of the CWAL event over the years and expressed his excitement over having Mackay back on campus.
"Thank you for supporting Binghamton's student-athletes and women's athletics," he said. "It has truly been a Who's Who of featured speakers that have had over the years but today will be the best. Emily, thank you for joining us today and for rallying the community around you last summer. It was quite the run."
Mackay is the latest of an impressive group of guest speakers who have come to Binghamton for the CWAL event. She is preceded by Angel McCoughtry (2024), Dottie Pepper (2023), Nancy Hogshead-Makar (2022), Breanna Stewart (2021), Suzyn Waldman (2020), Joan Benoit-Samuelson (2019), Shannon Boxx (2018), Swin Cash (2017), Amy Van Dyken (2016), Rebecca Lobo (2015), Jennie Finch (2014), Shannon Miller (2013), Amanda Beard (2012), Julie Foudy (2011), Kara Lawson (2010) and Jessica Mendoza (2009).
The Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon event has raised more than $500,000 to support the BBAA Scholarship Fund.
