Williams looking to will herself, Georgia to titles

U.S. Olympian will take on pentathlon and long jump on opening day of meet in College Station, Texas in an attempt to win her fourth championship and Bulldogs’ first

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Kendell Williams is taking on the most demanding challenge of her collegiate track and field career Friday in order to help the University of Georgia women’s team try to achieve its biggest goal in program history.

And just like the pentathlon, Williams hopes to check five boxes off her list of goals at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas.

Williams, a U.S. Olympian, is looking to become the first female athlete to win four indoor titles in the same event when she competes in the 60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800 in a five-hour span in her final collegiate pentathlon.

The senior is also looking to surpass her own collegiate record of 4,703 points set at last year's NCAA championship meet.

And two hours following the conclusion of the pentathlon, Williams will return to compete in the long jump, along with teammates Keturah Orji and Kate Hall, in an attempt to contribute more points toward Georgia’s title pursuit, which rests solely on the performances of seven field event athletes.

“It’s exciting, but it’s also a little bit sad at the same time, just knowing that it is my last indoor NCAA,” said Williams, who won her third SEC indoor pentathlon title Feb. 24 with 4,686 points.

“There is a lot riding on this because nobody has ever done the four-peat, so that’s what I would like to accomplish. I’d also like to end in a PR, which is obviously hard to do. It’s always hard to put five events together really well.

“I’m hoping my legs have some juice left in the tank and be able to jump and maximize those points.”

If she is able to achieve those three goals Friday, then Williams’ focus shifts to Saturday when the Bulldogs will try to knock off Oregon and Arkansas to capture their first team championship. Kendell’s older brother Devon Williams will also try to help Georgia produce the first siblings in NCAA indoor finals history to sweep pentathlon and heptathlon titles.

“It’s something I take a lot of pride in, making the University of Georgia known for those events. It’s really outstanding for the student-athletes and our history,” said Georgia coach Petros Kyprianou, who has guided athletes – Leontia Kallenou, Williams and Orji – to six individual indoor national championships in the past three years.

“But it is very satisfying having Kendell and Keturah and those girls doing all these great things for the team and I’m just eternally grateful to those kids and what they’ve done for us.”

For three years and 15 events at the NCAA indoor finals, Kendell Williams has been the model of greatness and consistency.

Following a pair of victories in 2014 and 2015 over Mississippi State’s Erica Bougard – who won the USATF Indoor pentathlon title March 3 in Albuquerque, N.M. – Williams became only the fourth American female athlete to eclipse 4,700 points last year to equal the success of former Oregon standout and Canadian Olympian Brianne Theisen-Eaton and Arizona State graduate Jackie Johnson with her third NCAA pentathlon crown.

“I try to keep my mouth shut sometimes because everybody gets caught up in the sprints, but then they are bypassing a tremendous athlete like Kendell Williams who is going for her fourth straight title,” Kyprianou said. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not, but if it does, it’s history and nobody is even paying attention to that. She was an Olympian. Her and Keturah were the only Olympians in the (press conference) room and they get no recognition, but it will be very exciting to watch that happening and unfolding.

“We’re in a country that is sprint-oriented and it’s our job to change the culture if we can. I hope she does it to give her the glory she deserves and put her up there with the Hannah Cunliffes.”

Cunliffe, a junior at Oregon, set the collegiate record in the 60-meter dash Feb. 11 by clocking 7.07 seconds at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque. Her points in the 60 and 200 for the Ducks will be equally as crucial as Williams’ efforts in the pentathlon and long jump for Georgia in the team battle.

“I train hard and I think I am able to do it, that’s why Petros entered me into it because he has a lot of confidence in me,” Williams said. “SECs gave me a lot of confidence coming into this meet, but I think I still have a lot in the tank that I can give.”

Williams’ performance at the SEC Championships was another indication that she is again a significant favorite to capture the historic fourth pentathlon title, with Arkansas junior Taliyah Brooks the second-highest scorer in the field more than 200 points behind.

“My hurdle time dropped a little bit and I was able to take some really good attempts at 1.87m (6-1.50), so hopefully I’ll be able to turn some of those good attempts into makes in the high jump,” Williams said. “The long jump was encouraging and there were also some areas of improvement. The 800 is an area of improvement and the shot put is an area of improvement.”

Continued improvement throughout the season, combined with the ability to elevate her level at championship meets have Williams in position to become only the third athlete in NCAA Division 1 indoor finals history to win four titles in any individual event. UTEP’s Suleiman Nyambui won the men’s mile from 1979-82 and SMU’s Michael Carter captured the men’s shot put in 1980-81 and again in 1983-84.

“She’s very special. I do her credit her parents a lot, but you’ve got to have it yourself, remaining calm and collected,” Kyprianou said. “She has trust. She trusts the person that is around her, whether it is a coach or her trainer or whoever is helping her, and she opens up and when she sees the results, she latches on and she trusts herself.

“She is also very humble. You would never hear her talk highly about herself or talking bad about anybody. She is focused on her dream and she doesn’t even share her dream. She just takes it one day at a time.”

Or more appropriately, one event at a time, a lesson her father Blane Williams passed along when he coached Kendell for 10 years in youth track in Georgia with the East Cobb Track Club and Heat Track Club.

“That’s been my strategy all through college and that will be my strategy (Friday),” Williams said. “I can’t wake up in the morning and think I have six events to do today. It’s one event at a time and doing the best that you can in each of those events.”

Williams’ sacrifices and unselfish approach haven’t been lost on her teammates either, especially Orji, who will look to repeat as triple jump champion Saturday and possibly become Georgia’s second long jump champion, joining Hyleas Fountain in 2004.

“I love our team and how we’re all very humble, but we also work so hard and we’re able to pull everything together to score as many points for our team,” Orji said. “We usually end up top five with just a few girls, so it’s really amazing what our team is able to do.”

After three consecutive third-place indoor finishes, Georgia has its best opportunity this weekend to seriously challenge Oregon and Arkansas, who have combined to win the past seven team championships.

And the Bulldogs will rely, as usual, on Williams to produce their first 10 points by capturing the program’s fifth pentathlon title, including Fountain in 2004.

“We’re very lucky to have great leadership by Keturah, Kendell, Maddie (Fagan) and Tatiana (Gusin),” Kyprianou said. “If we were to win a team title with just the field events, then the Kendells of the world would get more attention.”

For Williams, it comes down to one moment, one step, one hurdle, one jump and one throw at a time, in order to become, fittingly, the fifth female track and field athlete – including outdoors – to win four Division 1 titles in the same event.

“I might as well take it all, it’s my last meet. I would love to end in a PR, which would be a collegiate record, and then come back and score as many points as I can in the long jump,” Williams said. “Our girls team is trying to do something really special this year, so I’m going to give it all I’ve got, all day long and see how it goes. It would be awesome to do that for Petros and prove that he is a fabulous coach and we do have fabulous training and we are great athletes.”