University of Georgia Athletics
Williams Starts NCAA Heptathlon In Second
June 10, 2016 | Track & Field
EUGENE, Ore. --- Posting a collegiate record to start her events, junior Kendell Williams finished day one of the heptathlon in second place at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Friday.
Williams used her four performances to score a day one personal best of 3,810, which is six points ahead of her previous personal record after the opening day of action. Kansas State's Akela Jones, who won the 2015 title, is leading Williams by 141 points.
Thanks to their 13 points scored on Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs are in third place with another day of competition coming. Arkansas (26) and Texas A&M (16) make up the top two at this point.
The Bulldogs did not have any competitors on Friday and finished the meet tied for 29th place with eight points. Florida (62), Arkansas (56) and Texas A&M (50) were the top three finishers on the men's side.
"Kendell had a strong performance despite some tough weather conditions and I am proud of the effort she put out," said Bulldog head coach Petros Kyprianou. "She goes into the second day behind arguably one of the world's top athletes in Akela Jones. Kendell's thing is the hurdles, and her collegiate record time today was really fast for a heptathlete. Usually when Kendell has a fast time in the hurdles to start her competition, she gets on a roll and puts together a string of impressive performances."
Williams, a native of Marietta, Ga., blistered the competition with a collegiate record time of 12.83 to win the 100-meter hurdles for an early 1,150 points. Jones clocked a 13.10 for 1,109 points to be the closest finisher to Williams.
Despite a light rain shower coming through before the start of the 100m hurdles, Williams clocked a 12.83, which passed her own collegiate record of 12.99 set during her run to the 2014 NCAA title as a true freshman. Her time also established a fresh school record, topping her former mark in the open hurdles of 12.87 to win the 2014 USATF Junior Championships, also in Eugene.
Williams made short work of her first four heights in the high jump, picking up first attempt clearances on all four. She finished at 5 feet, 10 inches for 953 points after missing three times in a row at 5-11.25. Williams led the overall competition by three points at this point and only 16 points separated the top three after the first two events.
Thanks in part to two fouls to open the shot put, Williams gave up the overall lead to Jones in the heptathlon's third event. She launched her final try 41-6.50, which ended up being the second-best multi-events shot mark of her career and was good for 705 points. Williams finished the event down 136 points and in second place.
Williams completed her day with the best wind-legal time of her career (23.78) and the second-best overall time since competing for the Lady Bulldogs. This finish scored the Marietta, Ga., native her final 1,002 points of the day and kept her within striking distance of Jones.
Williams returns in the heptathlon's final three events - long jump, javelin and 800m - starting at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Sophomore Mady Fagan also high jumps at 6 p.m. while sophomore Keturah Orji and freshman Aliyah Johnson start in the triple jump at 6:30 p.m. Orji is the defending champion in her event and Fagan and Johnson are making their debut at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Live stats and full results from the NCAA Championships will be posted at georgiadogs.com.
Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack).
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