On a day which included eight finals, stars were aplenty in Hayward Field. But on Sunday, in front of thousands of fans, it was one of the field’s youngest competitors which played to the home crowd and took his performance to new heights.
Oregon track and field has berthed yet another star and his name is Micah Williams.
Williams’ NCAA Championship performance was not up to par for the young sprinter. His performance in Hayward Field this weekend however? Anything but.
After an impressive race in a stacked heat of the 100-meter dash on Saturday, the 19-year-old turned in an equally exceptional performance in the semifinals and finals on Sunday, alongside former Ducks Cravon Gillespie and Kyree King.
In a heat which included New Balance’s Trayvon Bromell and Nike’s Justin Gatlin, Williams finished fourth in 10.02 seconds with Gillespie right on his tail in 10.03. The pair later qualified for the final after the second heat was run.
“Oregon is an upcoming sprint school,” Williams said. “You’ll see soon.”
In the final, Williams again matched his elite competition, this time finishing in under 10 seconds at 9.91, a personal best. The Oregon freshman proved himself on Sunday as the only collegiate athlete in the final and looks ready to compete at the sports highest levels for years to come. This summer, he’ll have the chance to learn from the best as he joins the Olympic team.
“I can’t even describe it,” Williams said. “I’m in shock. I really made the USA team as a 19-year-old. I can’t believe this happened. I wanted to get top three, but I’m on the team which is pretty exciting.”
Gillespie again finished right behind Williams, clocking in at 10 seconds flat.
“I’m not here to just be a relay guy,” Gillespie said. “I know that I am better than that. My time will come for sure.”
Outside of the trio of sprinters, Joseph Delgado was the only other former Duck to appear on the day. A participant in the men’s decathlon, Delgado finished in fifth with a personal best 8161 points. He ran a 14.96 in the 110m hurdles, threw a best toss of 144 feet and one inch in the discus, landed a 15-7 in the pole vault and posted a 192-6 in the javelin throw.
But by far his best performance of the day came in the 1,500 meters where he finished in 4:20.39, good for first place.
