What can the multi-talented & World Juniors bound Harrison Williams not do?

Jul 03, 2014

Tennessee’s Harrison Williams considers his mental approach to the decathlon his strength.

The recent Memphis University School graduate demonstrated his ability to remain focused to the task at hand during last week’s USATF Junior National Championships (June 27-29) in Sacramento, Calif., held separately from this weekend’s meet in Eugene, Ore.

With a slight, 14-point edge over his nearest rival after the first five of the decathlon’s 10 events, Williams began Day 2 avoiding a major gaffe in the 110-meter hurdles where he ran a time of 14.98 seconds, more than a second from his personal best.

In an event where timing is everything, the Stanford-bound athlete had to make a quick adjustment to secure some crucial points.

“I actually ran terrible but still scored a lot of points,” he said. “I went over the first hurdle with the wrong leg and had to switch legs after the second hurdle. I still managed to run a good time.”

Williams scored a solid 852 points in the hurdles en route to a winning total of 7,734 points, earning him a spot on the U.S. team for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Oregon at the end of the month. His final tally is the highest ever for a U.S. junior decathlete.

“I have seen the rankings (for the World Juniors) and one guy has scored 8,000 points and the second-place guy has scored like 7,800 points,” he said. “I definitely have a chance for second, first may be a little out of reach.”

Williams defeated Gabriel Moore of Freeport, Fla., for the U.S. crown. Moore, who was the New Balance National indoor titlists in the pentathlon this past March, scored 7,594 points. Oregon freshman Mitch Modin was third with 7,516 points.

Williams is currently in Eugene where he’s training for the pole vault, an event he may attempt to make the team individually this weekend. He owns a best of 16 feet, 8 inches and is ranked No. 4 among all entries.

“Right now my ankle is bothering me (from the decathlon),” said Williams, who copped the decathlon national title at the AAU Junior Olympics in 2012 and was second at the USATF Junior Olympic Nationals last year. “If I feel good, I’ll compete. If it’s bothering me, I’ll scratch. I want to be 100 percent for the championships.”

At the Junior Nationals, which took place in conjunction with U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Williams actually regained the lead for good in the pole vault. Leading after the first six events, the Stanford signee fell behind after the discus where he had a toss of 126-1.75. He regained his composure and the top spot with a decathlon best of 16-0.75 in the pole vault.

In terms of building his confidence, the first day couldn’t have gone any better for Williams. He had personal bests in everything but the high jump where he still leaped a credible 6-6.25. He began the competition by running the 100m in 10.82 and had big-time PB’s in the long jump (23-4.75) and the 400m (48.11). In the shot, the third event of the day, he had a distance of 43-5.25.

“I was just focusing on myself. A lot of times I get concerned about everyone else. This time I just focused on me,” Williams said. “In the long jump I PR’d by a foot. I got a lot of confidence after that. In the 400, I PR’d by over a second.”

Williams scored 4,126 points to Moore’s 4,112 after Day 1. Modin was also within reach with 4,049 points.

With a nearly 100-point lead over Moore after the pole vault, Williams secured his title with a best of 164-4 in the javelin and a 4:44.42 effort in the final event, the 1,500m. He came just 14 points from setting an all-time record in the decathlon.

Williams’ victory at the U.S. meet is one of many highlights for him this year. On April 11, he defended his decathlon title at the Arcadia Invitational where he scored a then-best of 7,525 points. It was a meet he was far below his best in the pole vault with a height of 15-5.

“That was the No. 3 all time for high school,” he said. “It definitely gave me confidence (for the U.S. Juniors). I knew I had a lot of points to give. I didn’t have a good pole vault.”

Williams, the state’s Gatorade track athlete of the year, had a meet to remember at the TSSAA State Track & Field Division 2 Championships from May 19-21. He captured five events by taking the 110m high hurdles (13.79), 300m IH (36.4), high jump (PB, 6-8), pole vault (16-0) and decathlon. His performance fueled the Owls to a 176-135.5 victory over second-place Brentwood Academy for the Private School team title.

“That was my goal at the beginning of the season, for us to win the team title,” he said. “It was very exciting.”

Williams is hoping to continue that excitement level and current hot streak in a few more weeks at the World Juniors, a meet he no doubt has a legitimate chance for a podium finish.

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