Dan Nolan  |  Published September 28, 2020

A Real Life-Saver

Former Scots track standout Maggie Semington ’01 named Galesburg Area Crime Stoppers Officer of the Year for heroics on I-74 bridge.

MONMOUTH, Ill – Former Monmouth College athlete Maggie Semington ’01 was fast on the track, and that attribute was instrumental in a life-saving act that recently earned her the Galesburg Area Crime Stoppers Officer of the Year for 2019.

Presented this fall to the 15-year veteran of the Galesburg Police Department, the award was given for Semington’s handling of a February 2019 incident. Responding to a suicidal subject on the I-74 bridge, Semington sprang into action, quickly wrapping her arms around the subject and pulling them from the ledge of the interstate and out of danger.

MAGGIE SEMINGTON '01: Former Scots track standout is first female to receive Galesburg Area C... MAGGIE SEMINGTON '01: Former Scots track standout is first female to receive Galesburg Area Crime Stoppers Officer of the Year honor.The GPD release says “Officer Semington risked her own safety. …Her heroic actions not only saved this person’s life, but prevented injury to the drivers below.”

A four-time Midwest Conference track champion who’s also the sixth-fastest Fighting Scot woman in the 200-meter hurdles, Semington credits the lessons learned at Monmouth and on the track with giving her key law enforcement tools.

“At the time, I knew I had to be quick and forceful,” explained Semington. “I use some of my training from college in physical tasks at work. The love of track and field has kept me running, and working out is an important part of my life that I’ve continued (after college). I’ve got to credit (Monmouth track coach) Roger Haynes for always pushing me. He saw my potential.”

Semington, who majored in accounting and business administration at Monmouth, became the first woman to receive the Officer of the Year award, an honor not lost on the Galesburg native.

“To be the first woman named the Officer of the Year award means a lot to me,” she said. “I feel I have proven I can do the job just as well as any of my male counterparts. Being on the Scots’ track team showed me if you care about what you’re doing and you work harder, you can achieve your dreams. The best part of my job isn’t receiving awards and recognition, it’s helping others and seeing families get better, people get better and preventing bad things from happening to others.”

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