COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Stanford junior Harrison Williams broke his own school heptathlon record, set an NCAA mark, and nearly set an American collegiate record during his sixth-place performance at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Texas A&M.
Williams used a clearance of 17-7 (5.36 meters) in the pole vault – the sixth of seven events in the two-day competition – to propel himself to a score of 5,970 points, breaking his Stanford mark of 5,937 from last year's NCAA meet. The score was the highest-ever for an NCAA sixth-place finisher and would have broken the previous record for fifth place too.
Williams took three good jumps at 17-11 (5.46m) and appeared over the American collegiate heptathlon pole vault record of 17-10 ½ (5.45m), but didn't get deep enough to clear the bar.
He followed with a personal best in the 1,000, his only pure PB of the meet. He ran 2:39.45 to move up one place and close on fifth-pace Lindon Victor (5,976), Texas A&M's reigning NCAA decathlon champ.
Williams has broken Stanford multi-event records six times – four in the decathlon and two in the heptathlon – and owns four Stanford standards, including as a member of record-setting 4x400 relay teams indoors and outdoors.
Five Stanford athletes competed Saturday, on the second and final day of the meet, led by Vanessa Fraser, who placed fifth in the women's 3,000 meters, in 9:10.92, and became a first-team All-America (top eight) for the first time. Elise Cranny was 11th in the same race, Olivia Baker was seventh in the women's 800, and Jack Keelan was 11th in the men's 3,000.
"I was definitely hoping for a higher place, but I can't be mad at a PR," Williams said. "It was a really solid meet. A little disappointed that I was only six points out of fifth, but still happy."
Williams was 11th and never higher than ninth until the pole vault. He was most happy with his long jump on Friday (23-0 ¾, 7.03 meters) and didn't feel totally comfortable in the shot put though he had a solid throw on his last attempt.
On Saturday, he opened with an 8.23 in the 60 hurdles, an "average" time for him and said he was "looking for a big vault."
Williams said he felt "shaky and inconsistent at the lower heights" – missing once at 16-3 ¼ (4.96m), but got better as the event continued.
"Once the vault competition got underway, he got into a rhythm and just competed," said Stanford multis coach Michael Eskind. "When we got to 5.16 (16-11), he started to really click on his plant and he carried that through the next three bars."
His second-attempt clearance at 17-7 (5.36m) was big, and was a personal best for a multi-event competition. It also amounted to the most points he ever has scored (1,023) in a single event, and moved him up four places.
"I was really proud of how Harrison competed these two days," Eskind said. "It's a testament to his maturity and composure to have a lifetime best score with a single event PR."
* * *
In the women's 3,000, Vanessa Fraser stayed largely out of the fray until making a strong move with five laps to go, taking the lead and maintaining it until just before the bell. Her fifth-place finish belied the impact she had on the race. It also marked her best national finish, improving upon her 10th place from this race last year.
"The race ended up being pretty tactical," Fraser said. "In years past, it seemed like someone usually took it out pretty hard early on, but this race was relatively slow for a while, and that made it extremely bunched and crowded for the first 2K."
Fraser knew that she might sacrifice herself at the end, but felt it was a better option than waiting.
"I was stuck in the back and just kept my eyes on the crowd to make sure that it didn't string out without me noticing, and kind of stayed out of trouble and avoided fighting battles in the back."
About her move, "It just works best to make one decisive and assertive move. Taking the lead was best for me because I finally got out of the crowd and was able to push the pace far enough out so that it didn't become a kicker's race.
"While I didn't have enough leg speed to respond to the winning move, I think I set me up to have the best race I could have."
Fraser and Cranny were on the back end of consecutive days of racing. Fraser ran lead off and Cranny was the anchor on Stanford's runner-up distance medley relay team on Friday.
* * *
In the women's 800, Olivia Baker ran the fastest time by a Stanford runner ever at the NCAA Indoor Championships, with her 2:04.45 eclipsing her 2:04.73 from last year.
Baker described her thoughts going in and during the race:
"Two of the key points today were 'find your pace, not your place,' and 'Go to the front or the back, but don't get stuck in the middle.' The pace I was trying to find was 28 mid to low. This is a part of the race I executed well in the first lap. However, the 28 kind of put me in the middle of the pack, so I ended up drifting to the back to find a comfortable rhythm.
"Through the middle laps, I felt all right. I fell into a good rhythm and hung on to the pack. Being at the back, I knew that I needed to make my move early, so I began my sprint at 250 meters. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to maintain that speed through the final 100 and faded to seventh. I just didn't have the kick on this given day.
"Nevertheless, I think God for both the wins and the lessons that came from competing at NCAA's this year and I'm ready to get back at it for the outdoor season."
* * *
NCAA Indoor Championships
At Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium
(200-meter track)
Saturday's Stanford results and winners of those events
Men
Team scores – 1, Texas A&M 46; 2, Florida 45.5; 3, Oregon 38; 4, Georgia 35.5; 5, Arkansas 33; 49, Stanford 3.
3,000 – 1, Edward Cheserek (Oregon) 7:55.91; 11, Jack Keelan (Stanford) 8:10.03.
Heptathlon -- 1, Devon Williams (Georgia) 6,177; 6, Harrison Williams (Stanford) 5,970.
Williams' results (place in event, mark, points):
First day – 60: 9, 7.02 (875); Long jump: 12, 23-0 ¾, 7.03m (821); Shot put: 7, 43-9 1/4, 13.34m (688); High jump – 10, 6-4 3/4, 1.95m (758). Total: 3,142.
Second day – 60 H: 7, 8.23m (925); Pole vault – 1, 17-7, 5.36m (1,023); 1,000: 4, 2:39.45 (880). Total: 2,828.
Final total: 5,970 (PB).
Women
Team scores – 1, Oregon 84; 2, Georgia 51; 3, Alabama 37; 4, USC 35; 5, Arkansas 32.5; 10, Stanford 14.
800 – 1, Raevyn Rogers (Oregon) 2:01.09; 7, Olivia Baker (Stanford) 2:04.45.
3,000 – 1, Dani Jones (Colorado) 9:09.20; 5, Vanessa Fraser (Stanford) 9:10.92; 11, Elise Cranny (Stanford) 9:17.85.
* * *
Stanford All-Americans
Men
First team: Harrison Williams (heptathlon).
Second team: Jack Keelan (3,000, DMR), Tai Dinger (DMR), Jackson Shumway (DMR), Brian Smith (DMR).
Women
First team: Vanessa Fraser (3,000, DMR), Olivia Baker (800), Elise Cranny (DMR), Missy Mongiovi (DMR), Malika Waschmann (DMR).
Second team: Elise Cranny (3,000).
