| SophomoreTeddy Williams earned All-America honors with his seventh-place finish in the 100-meter dash on Friday. |
DES MOINES, Iowa ? Sophomore Teddy Williams fantastic second season as a UTSA Roadrunner concluded on Friday night with a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter dash at the NCAA Championships.
Racing in arguably top field in NCAA annals, the Tyler native crossed the finish line in 10.40 and became the fifth All-American in program history. LSU's Richard Thompson, who entered the race with the nation's top time of the season, won the race in 10.12. Clemson's Travis Padgett (10.16) and LSU's Tindon Holliday (10.18) rounded out the top three.
He did it despite dealing with a sore hamstring that tightened up during his semifinal race on Wednesday.
"I got out of the blocks good tonight and knew I was going to have to give it my all," Williams said after the race. "I wanted to be able to the finish the race and be competitive. I could tell right away I wasn't 100 percent because my transition from the drive to up and down wasn't as strong as it normally is. I just put the pain behind me and fought through it. That's what being a competitor is all about. Even though I was hurting, I knew I had to finish strong, so I wanted to push it as far as I could without hurting myself.
"It's a great feeling knowing that I'm All-American, especially after how things went at the indoor meet. I was going to fight for it this time. Now I need to get some rest. There's nothing major wrong, it's just tired from long season. I'll be ready to go in two weeks at the trials."
Williams joined Larry Brooks (2007), Brandon Buteaux (2005), Leonard Byrd (1995-97) and Justin Youngblood (2002, '04) as the only athletes in school annals to earn All-America honors. Sixth-year head coach Aaron Fox now has mentored four athletes ? Brooks, Buteaux, Williams and Youngblood ? who have combined for six certificates since 2004.
"I am so proud of what Teddy accomplished tonight," Fox said. "His hamstring tightened up on him in the semifinals and he was able to come out and compete against one of the top fields in NCAA history despite not being 100 percent. Tonight was a great reward for all the hard work and dedication he has put into this program the last two years. We'll get back to town next week and start getting him ready for the Olympic Trials."
The United States Track & Field Olympic Team Trials are scheduled to begin on Friday, June 27, in Eugene, Ore. Qualifying for the 100m will begin during the meet's second day.