Decathlete on U.S. Record Pace

EUGENE, Ore. – Stanford’s Harrison Williams has led the decathlon at the U.S. Junior Track and Field Championships since the first event and is on pace to repeat as champion and break the national record.

Williams had 4,098 points and held a 338-point advantage after Thursday’s opening five events. Friday’s final five include two of his primary events – the 110-meter hurdles and pole vault.

The Memphis native set a personal record in the long jump and was first in the 100. The freshman has led the competition for those 19 and under since the first event.

Williams is ahead of pace from his best junior decathlon, which uses lighter weight implements and has lower high hurdles than the collegiate and international competitions. At the IAAF Junior World Championships last year, Williams had 4,032 points after Day One on his way to placing sixth and earning his highest junior score – 7,760, a national high school record.

The U.S. junior record (with junior implements) is 8,018, set by Gunnar Nixon of Arkansas in 2012.

Williams’ day in the heat of the Willamette Valley began with a 10.78 in the 100, just missing his personal record by 0.01 and taking the lead, which he has extended with each event.

In the long jump, Williams leaped 23-1 ¾ for a personal record and followed with a 44-8 shot put (12 pounds as opposed to the 16-pound collegiate shot). Williams cleared 6-5 ½ in the high jump and completed the day with a 48.56 in the 400.

Williams is among 15 current Stanford athletes competing in either the U.S. junior or senior championships, including six in the senior championships. Sean McGorty and Claudia Saunders are among them, competing at that level for the first time. Neither advanced out of the first round.

Saunders , who set the school record of 2:00.63 while finishing second at the NCAA Championships on the same track 12 days earlier, was sixth in her heat. She ran 2:07.33. Saunders was in fourth on the backstretch of the final lap but was unable to respond to moves made by the others.

McGorty, a sophomore who was eighth in the NCAA 5,000, was seventh in his heat of the 1,500. McGorty ran 3:49.94. He was fourth or fifth much until 600 left, when the pace began to increase and was sixth at the bell.

Former teammate Michael Atchoo, class of 2014, also did not advance in the 1,500. Atchoo led the second heat for the first 1,000, before finishing sixth in 3:46.08.  Atchoo was 12th overall and missed qualifying for the final by 0.67. McGorty was 25th.

In the junior 1,500, two current freshman and one incoming freshman advanced. High school sub-4 miler Grant Fisher and Cardinal freshman Patrick Perrier reached the final by automatically by finishing among the top four of their heats, and Blair Hurlock was the final qualifier on time.

Perrier was third in a physical Heat One, running 3:53.40 while two opponents ended sprawled on the track on the final lap. Fisher was third in Heat Two in 4:00.09, with Hurlock sixth in 4:02.23 after making a bid for the lead on the final lap.

The final will be Saturday at 5:08 p.m.

In the men’s 10,000 final, Chris Derrick ’12 was seventh in 28:31.75. Derrick, the reigning U.S. cross country champ, was among three Stanford alums in the race. Brendan Gregg ’11 was 13th in 28:52.16 and Jacob Riley ’11 was 22nd in 29:53.10.

In the women’s shot put final, Olympian Jillian Camarena-Williams ’04 was fourth, missing a World Championships berth (assuming the achievement of the qualifying standard) by one place. Camarena-Williams put the shot 61-4 ¾ (18.71 meters) to miss the top three by five inches.

In the women's 10,000 final, Sara Bei Hall '05 was 12th in 34:03.25.

Friday’s action includes the conclusion to the men’s junior decathlon. Plus, Stanford freshmen teammates Olivia Baker (women’s 400 first round), Lena Giger (women’s hammer, shot put), and Tristen Newman (men’s shot put) will compete in the junior championships.

Defending national champ Kori Carter ’13 competes in the first round of the women’s 400 hurdles.