EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — His name is one of the first things you see when you arrive in town. Welcome to Edwardsville, home of Malik Allen.
And for those around Allen, it has been apparent for a long time that this was an athlete destined for greatness.
“About 5 years old, you could see the athletic physique in him," Allen's grandmother, Annie Jones, said.
“He was kind of a crybaby back then. But if you got him upset enough, he’d go out and want to win, and he’d do everything he could to win," Allen's uncle, DeAndre Lewis, said.
He's excelled on the baseball field and basketball court over the years, but in high school one athletic pursuit has risen to the top for Allen. Jumping is his passion. And he can jump a long, long way.
Edwardsville High School jumping coach Carry Bailey said, “We knew he was special his freshman year. He qualified for 3A, the big schools, for state in an individual event (triple jump). And there’s not many freshmen who qualify for state. It’s rare."
Since that freshman season, Allen has set pretty much every jumping record at Edwardsville High School. He became an Illinois state champion and put his name among the best in the country in the high school triple jump.
“A lot of people like to call it a hop, skip and jump. I think it’s a little more than that. You have to have the technique for sure," Allen said.
And this season is more of the same.
“(I) Won indoor state back to back, and then from there just breaking records and doing what I can," Allen said.
“I think he’s sitting 7th or 8th in the nation, so he could go onto a campus and make an impact day one. He’s that good. And we haven’t even seen the best yet," Bailey said.
Allen has made his athletic mark in Edwardsville, not just in the record books. But immortalized in tattoo form on his coach’s arm as well after a tattoo-for-state-championship promise coach Bailey has with his jumpers.
“He got the dreads on there too," Allen laughed.
It’s one thing to know Allen’s athletic accomplishments. But it’s another to know what he’s gone through to make it to this point.
Allen lost his father in a car crash when he was just 14 months old. And then, in 2018, his mother, Markia, was on her motorcycle in Edwardsville, when a drunk driver struck her.
“Just to be honest with you, it was really tough to hear the doctors come out and say, ‘There’s nothing more we can do for her. We have to let her go’. And that was a moment in time that changed everybody in my family’s life," Lewis, who now helps raise Allen, said.
At the age of 12, Allen had lost both of his parents to car crashes. And the bond with his mom was something special.
“Malik was a momma’s boy for real. Like to the heart, he was a momma’s boy," Lewis said.
“It was always just Malik and his mom, and then to lose her suddenly like he did, it just made him grow up. Him and his mom shared everything. They did everything together. But after she was gone, I saw Malik just kind of bristle up to the occasion to be the young man that he is now. Because he didn’t have his mom, and although he had us, he would just kind of take stuff on his own and try to work it out," Jones said.
Through all the hurdles, Allen had his family, and sports to help him along. The track is a place where his parents are present. After all, his mom was also a track star at Edwardsville.
“I always have her in the back of my head. I know she’s watching and so is my dad," Allen said. “Just keep your head up and keep pushing. You want to make those people above you proud. So do what you can to make them proud.”
It turns out Allen has mom’s mindset on the track, and also in his entrepreneurial pursuits.
“When he puts his mind to something he has a determination. He’s not going to quit until it’s completed," Jones said.
“He has his own brand, believe it or not. He has a logo and everything. He’s trying to do everything he can to make himself a brand," Lewis said.
Now in the stretch run of his senior year, Allen is finishing with a flourish. He won the Southwestern Conference titles in long jump and triple jump and now has his sights set on another Illinois state title in a few weeks.
“When those records happen and he’s a state champion, and that smile pops out, it’s special. He’s got an infectious smile that can light up the room," Bailey said.
As for the future? Allen has a full ride offer to compete in college at Indiana State University, with more offers likely to come. And he even has an Olympic dream. No, I mean an actual literal Olympic dream.
“I’ve been having a few (dreams) recently. There was one where I went to sleep and I was on the runway and had the USA stuff on. And you know we have to hop, skip and jump so it’s like a bound, bound and then on the last one I woke up... and I was like, ‘Oh shoot’. I guess I’ve got to get there to know what’s going to happen," Allen laughed.
And no matter where Allen jumps, his family will be there.
“She’s (Allen's mom) proud for sure. I just have to keep it up and keep going. It’s not done. It’s just beginning," Allen said.
“Oh she sees. She’s looking down from heaven right now and she’s probably saying, ‘Way to go, son. Way to go'," Lewis said.
“She would be elated. She would be so happy. Words couldn’t express how happy she would be," Jones said. "She always called him ‘King’. So I’m sure she would say, ‘King did it’.”