EUGENE, Ore. – The grueling nature of the decathlon can get lost in the swiftness of a sprint or the agility of a jump, even they’re done ceaselessly throughout a long day.
But away from the 9,201 spectators at Hayward Field on the first day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday, the ordeal of the decathlon was evident.
Stanford sophomore Harrison Williams won the fifth and final event on the first of the two-day 10-event competition, winning the 400 by 10 meters in a lifetime best.
As he walked out of the athlete’s tunnel and away from the track, Williams still needed plenty of recovery while his coach, Michael Eskind, and father, Jay Williams, asked Harrison about his dinner plans.
“I’m not hungry,” he said under a grimace. “I’m not even thinking about food right now.”
Williams had reason to suffer a little. He just assembled the best first-day of his life, scoring 4,097 points to find himself in seventh while also on school-record pace. Williams set three personal records among five events and has 29 more than his previous first-day best. He’s also 61 ahead of the pace that led to his third and most recent Stanford record (7,842), at the Texas Relays in March.
Stanford’s only other competitor in the all-men’s day of competition Wednesday was Dylan Duvio, who tied for 12th in the pole vault. Duvio, third last year, made his opening height of 16-10 ¾ before leg and hip cramps hampered his attempts at 17-4 ½. Duvio easily had that height, but was unable to push his momentum through the jump and stalled out on the bar.
However, Williams’ day began lifetime wind-legal best of 10.69 in the 100 meters and he added to more personal records – 44-4 ¼ in the shot put and 47.06 in the final event of the day, the 400. Those sandwiched a long jump of 22-6 1/4 and a slightly disappointing high jump, which topped out at 6-3 ½.
Williams faced some adversity in the shot put when he fouled on his first throw and managed only 41-3 ¼ on his second. With only one more left, Williams exerted a big effort, nearly falling. As he balanced on his left leg, his right hand came dangerously close to touching the ground, which would have been a foul. But Williams recovered and the throw counted.
The normally stoic Williams turned toward the stands and couldn’t hide close-lipped grin.
After the first day of last year’s NCAA Championships, Williams was sixth with 40 fewer points and wound up fourth. He is 241 points behind leader Zach Ziemek of Wisconsin, who is locked in a duel with Texas A&M’s Lindon Victor with only 30 points separating them. But Williams still is in a position to jump a few positions with a good Thursday. He has two of his strongest events left, the 110 high hurdles and the pole vault, and is relatively swift in the 1,500 as well.
Williams, 20, is at least two years younger than any of the athletes ahead of him, and is fourth among Americans in the field. He already seemed assured of advancing to the Olympic Trials because his existing best score ranks No. 5 in the U.S. this year. Williams will make it official if he reaches the Trials qualifying standard of 7,900, which seems well within reach. The Olympic standard is 8,100.
Williams has established lifetime bests in all 13 previous multi-event competitions he has competed in, including nine since he’s been at Stanford.
sophomore Harrison Williams is seventh and on school-record pace after the first day of the decathlon Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field.
Williams set three personal records among five events and has 4,097 points – 29 more than his previous first-day best. He’s also 61 ahead of his pace when setting his third and most recent Stanford record (7,842), at the Texas Relays in March.
Stanford’s only other competitor Wednesday, Dylan Duvio, tied for 12th in the men’s pole vault. Duvio was third last year, but made only his opening height of 16-10 ¾ before cramping in his legs and hips hampered his attempts at 17-4 ½. Duvio easily had the height, but was unable to push his momentum through the jump and stalled out on the bar.
Williams, however, had a banner day. It began with a lifetime wind-legal best of 10.69 in the 100 meters. After an average long jump of 22-6 1/4, Williams put the shot 44-4 1/4 for another best. He was slightly disappointed with his high jump, which topped out at 6-3 1/2, but he finished strong with a winning 400 of 47.06 for his third PR.
After the first day of last year’s NCAA Championships, Williams was sixth with 40 fewer points and wound up fourth. He is 241 points behind leader Zach Ziemek of Wisconsin, but still in a position to jump a few positions with a good day. On Thursday, he has two of his strongest events, the 110 high hurdles and the pole vault, and is relatively swift in the 1,500 as well.
Though Williams, still only 20, already seemed assured of advancing to the Olympic Trials, but will earn an automatic berth by reaching the 7,900 Trials standard. Williams seems likely to do so -- he has established lifetime bests in all previous multi-event competitions that he has ever competed in, including all nine since he’s been at Stanford.
NCAA Championships
At Hayward Field
First day of four
Results of events with Stanford competitors:
Men
Team scores: 1, Oregon 19; 2, Arkansas 16; 3, Purdue 11.
Pole vault
1, Jake Blankenship (Tennessee) 18-4 ½ (5.60m); 2, Torben Laidig (Virginia Tech) 18-2 ½ (5.55m); 3, Devin King (Southeast Louisiana) 17-10 ½ (5.45m); 12, Dylan Duvio (Stanford) 16-10 ¾ (5.15m).
Decathlon
First-day leaders: 1, Zach Ziemek (Wisconsin) 4,338 points; 2, Lindon Victor (Texas A&M) 4,308; 3, Devon Williams (Georgia) 4,232; 7, Harrison Williams (Stanford) 4,097.
Williams’ results (place in event, mark, points):
100 – 5, 10.69 (931); Long jump – 17, 22-6 1/4 (6.86m) (781); Shot put – 10, 44-4 ¼ (13.52m) (699); High jump – 10, 6-3 1/2 (1.92m) (714); 400 – 1, 47.06 (955). First-day total: 4,097.
Women
Finals begin Thursday
Stanford's Schedule:
Thursday
10:30 a.m.: Decathlon 110 hurdles -- Harrison Williams.
11:20 a.m.: Decathlon discus -- Harrison Williams.
12:30 p.m.: Decathlon pole vault -- Harrison Williams.
2 p.m.: Women’s hammer final -- Valarie Allman.
3 p.m.: Decathlon javelin -- Harrison Williams.
4:46 p.m.: Women’s 1,500 semifinals -- Elise Cranny, Molly McNamara.
5:45 p.m.: Women’s javelin final -- Mackenzie Little.
6:04 p.m.: Women’s 800 semifinals -- Olivia Baker, Claudia Saunders.
6:56 p.m.: Decathlon 1,500 -- Harrison Williams.
7:48 p.m.: Women’s 4x400 relay -- Stanford (team TBA).
Friday
7:25 p.m.: Men’s 5,000 final -- Grant Fisher, Sean McGorty.
Saturday
3:05 p.m.: Women’s discus final -- Valarie Allman.
3:40 p.m.: Women’s 1,500 final.
4:47 p.m.: Women’s 800 final.
5:25 p.m.: Women’s 5,000 final -- Aisling Cuffe, Vanessa Fraser.
5:50 p.m.: Women’s 4x400 final.
Broadcast Schedule
Thursday
4:30-5 p.m., ESPNU
5-7:30 p.m.: ESPN
10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m., ESPN3
Friday
5:30-8 p.m., ESPN
12:30-8 p.m.: ESPN3
Saturday
3:30-6 p.m.: ESPN
11:30 a.m.-6 p.m., ESPN3
