| Sophomore Teddy Williams advanced to the 100 meters quarterfinals on Saturday (photo by Kirby Lee). |
EUGENE, Ore. ? Sophomore All-American Teddy Williams' quest to earn a spot on the United States Olympic track & field team came to an end on Saturday at historic Hayward Field but not before the Tyler native advanced to the quarterfinals of the 100-meter dash.
Williams started his day by racing to a 10.27 (sixth place) in the day's third preliminary heat, which was good for the 24th and final qualifying spot for the evening's quarterfinals.
Four-and-a-half hours later, he clocked a 10.24 in the first quarterfinal, the second-fastest time of his two-year career, but it was not fast enough to move on to Sunday's semifinals. Williams finished eighth in the same race that Tyson Gay won with a new American record time of 9.77, which is tied for the fourth-fastest in the history of the event.
"It's been a long, long season," Williams said after the quarterfinals. "I have been running hard since September and it was a blessing to be here and compete against the best in the country. Now that I have experienced what it will be like, I'll be ready for next year and the years to come."