2013 Indoor Track and Field on FlotrackFeb 28, 2013 by Isaac Wood
The Sleeper: Kevin Williams
The Sleeper: Kevin Williams
Isaac Wood returns with yet another edition of The Sleeper. The last few months, Wood has been all over the running world. He’s commentated for Flotrack for two days at the Armory Collegiate Invitational, written countless in-depth (that’s an understatement) weekend previews, and is now a contributor for Letsrun. If you want to stay up-to-date with all of his insight and analysis, make sure bookmark put his blog The Wood Report and follow him on Twitter.
On the last stretch of the 5000m at the Husky Classic in Seattle on February 8th, there were several runners all bunched together. Many of them were athletes that have been there done that including: Mo Ahmed of Wisconsin (Olympian, 8th at XC Nats 2012), Maverick Darling of Wisconsin (Big Ten Indoor 3k Champ, 11th at XC Nats 2013), Shadrack Kipchirchir of Oklahoma State (3rd Big 12 XC Champs, 18th XC Nats), and Anthony Rotich of UTEP (4th NCAA XC Nats), just to name a few.
After furious kicks from all of the runners mentioned above, when the dust settled, who ended up the winner? Kevin Williams of Oklahoma. Kevin Williams? Yes, Kevin Williams. Like many of the people who watched the race, the question was asked, “Who is Kevin Williams and where did he come from?”
Although he may have flown under the radar for the majority of his college career, Kevin Williams has been one of the most consistent top-tier distance runners in the country over the past three years.
Kevin Williams of Oklahoma is my “sleeper” this week and very deservedly so. After a win at the stacked Husky Classic and running at the time the second fastest 5K in the country, Williams is still not being talked about as someone who could be in contention for a national championship indoors for 5000m. Off of a moderate starting pace (things obviously picked up) Williams ran 13:38.57, which is now the third best time in the country.
Williams is a perfect example of someone who has progressively improved each and every year in college.
His 5K progression is as follows:
2010 - 13:51
2011 - 13:44
2012 - 13:39
2013 - 13:38.
This is a textbook example of a runner who had good upside coming into college and was able to respond well to the training regiments provided him. This is not to downplay the many accolades he received in high school.
Kevin Williams attended D’Evelyn High School in Denver, Colorado where he won three straight 4A state 3200m titles and twice in the 1600m. He also had very good PRs of 9:02.29 for 3200m and 4:14.67 (5000 ft altitude). He consistently beat some outstanding runners in Colorado every state meet (Wes Rickman of Florida State and Andrew Berberick of Stanford for example). Kevin had the opportunity to represent the United States at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in 2008 where he was the third American finisher (German Fernandez and Emil Heineking were first and second among American finishers).
Williams’ story of how he started running is a classic story for a classic under the radar athlete. Williams was initially interested in ice hockey where he was a solid player and wanted a way to stay in shape so he started running cross country in ninth grade. He soon realized that he was not nearly as big as a lot of his hockey buddies (100 lbs.) and decided to stick to running.
Next thing he knew, he was a seven-time state champion.
The good news for Kevin is that the national championships is at what Oklahoma calls their “Home Away from Home” in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He said that they run there so much that it will almost be a home meet for him. If the race ends up coming down to a 100 meter sprint, much like the Husky Classic, beware of Kevin Williams.
When the dust settles, Kevin Williams might prove that although he gave up hockey at a young age, he still has ice in his veins.
On the last stretch of the 5000m at the Husky Classic in Seattle on February 8th, there were several runners all bunched together. Many of them were athletes that have been there done that including: Mo Ahmed of Wisconsin (Olympian, 8th at XC Nats 2012), Maverick Darling of Wisconsin (Big Ten Indoor 3k Champ, 11th at XC Nats 2013), Shadrack Kipchirchir of Oklahoma State (3rd Big 12 XC Champs, 18th XC Nats), and Anthony Rotich of UTEP (4th NCAA XC Nats), just to name a few.
After furious kicks from all of the runners mentioned above, when the dust settled, who ended up the winner? Kevin Williams of Oklahoma. Kevin Williams? Yes, Kevin Williams. Like many of the people who watched the race, the question was asked, “Who is Kevin Williams and where did he come from?”
Although he may have flown under the radar for the majority of his college career, Kevin Williams has been one of the most consistent top-tier distance runners in the country over the past three years.
Kevin Williams of Oklahoma is my “sleeper” this week and very deservedly so. After a win at the stacked Husky Classic and running at the time the second fastest 5K in the country, Williams is still not being talked about as someone who could be in contention for a national championship indoors for 5000m. Off of a moderate starting pace (things obviously picked up) Williams ran 13:38.57, which is now the third best time in the country.
Williams is a perfect example of someone who has progressively improved each and every year in college.
His 5K progression is as follows:
2010 - 13:51
2011 - 13:44
2012 - 13:39
2013 - 13:38.
This is a textbook example of a runner who had good upside coming into college and was able to respond well to the training regiments provided him. This is not to downplay the many accolades he received in high school.
Kevin Williams attended D’Evelyn High School in Denver, Colorado where he won three straight 4A state 3200m titles and twice in the 1600m. He also had very good PRs of 9:02.29 for 3200m and 4:14.67 (5000 ft altitude). He consistently beat some outstanding runners in Colorado every state meet (Wes Rickman of Florida State and Andrew Berberick of Stanford for example). Kevin had the opportunity to represent the United States at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in 2008 where he was the third American finisher (German Fernandez and Emil Heineking were first and second among American finishers).
Williams’ story of how he started running is a classic story for a classic under the radar athlete. Williams was initially interested in ice hockey where he was a solid player and wanted a way to stay in shape so he started running cross country in ninth grade. He soon realized that he was not nearly as big as a lot of his hockey buddies (100 lbs.) and decided to stick to running.
Next thing he knew, he was a seven-time state champion.
The good news for Kevin is that the national championships is at what Oklahoma calls their “Home Away from Home” in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He said that they run there so much that it will almost be a home meet for him. If the race ends up coming down to a 100 meter sprint, much like the Husky Classic, beware of Kevin Williams.
When the dust settles, Kevin Williams might prove that although he gave up hockey at a young age, he still has ice in his veins.