Kendell Williams Hurdles are Her Thing

Kendell Williams is currently the 2008 Sub Youth Girls National Champion in the 100 meter hurdles, 200 meter hurdles, and Pentathlon and holder of 20 Junior Olympic National Level medals (18 are AAU).  

 Kendall Williams born in Alexandria, VA, and at age 7 she was introduced to Track and Field.  Prior to that, she had only been a cheerleader for her brother’s football team.  With an athletic brother a year older than her, she was always overshadowed by his accomplishments in baseball, football, basketball, and wrestling.  Once she stepped onto the track, it was apparent that she had found her niche. 

Kendell wasn’t always the fastest, but she was always in the race.  In her  first year, she advanced to the USATF Regional meet in Baltimore.  (At 7, regional is as far as you can go with USATF)  She was excelling in the 200 meter dash, but resisting the 400 meter.  Not believing her Coach/Dad that the 400 would give her the finishing kick she needed in the 200, she went to Baltimore and got caught in the final straight away, finishing third.  Now convinced, the following season she began running the 400.  It wasn’t long before the 400 became her strongest event. 

Winning at virtually all of the local meets, nationally, she was acquiring a collection of silver medals.  At age eleven, she began running the hurdles.  Again, being pushed locally by only the older girls, she advanced to the AAU Nationals and finished second by the slimmest of margins.  Actually what happened is a good lesson for other young athletes. 

Kendell advanced to the finals with the fastest qualifying time by far.  At the start of the finals, her blocks slipped dramatically.  Had she stopped, they probably would have restarted the race, but she kept going, and lost by 1/100 of a second.  Kendell never holds onto disappointment very long.  She does her best, if she comes up short; she contains her disappointment, then lets it go.  That same meet, she hit a hurdle in the pentathlon that cost her the gold, and won a bronze in the 400.  She knew that she would have another chance the next year. 

At the 2007 AAU JO in Knoxville, TN  Kendell won her first National Championship in the 80 meter hurdles, and has been one of the dominant sprint hurdlers ever since.  She also received a silver medal in the 400m and a bronze medal in the Pentathlon.

In 2008 before going to Detroit for the National Championship, she went to Orlando to the AAU Club Nationals, and broke the meet records there in the 100 and 200 hurdles.  In Detroit at the J.O. Nationals, she broke the National record in the 100 hurdles, and missed the record in the 200 hurdles by 7/100 of a second.  With another gold medal in the Pentathlon, and a bronze in the Long Jump (something else she does pretty well, she attempted to run the 400 meter with a sprained ankle.  She finished tenth. 

Kendell does not train year round for track.  When the season is over, she goes into her other passion which is competitive cheerleading. Cheering for football and basketball, I think she enjoys not being the center of attention. She loves vacationing  via cruise ship and she is as adventerous as she is fast.

In addition to all of her athletic accomplishments, Kendell also excels academically.  She has been an honor roll student for the last three years.  She is a member of the Beta Club at her school,

Kendell is basically shy, until she gets to know you.  She has never been comfortable with the attention she gets for being “Kendell Williams”.  She is always excited when somebody “good” speaks to her, or knows her name.  She is funny like that.  If she looks like she is stressing at the start of a race, her Dad will call her a silly pet name or say something to make her laugh to break that tension.  She is always reminded that track is a journey, not defined by a single season or race.  Kendell is in it for the long run.  She hopes to run in college, and maybe professionally, to include the Olympics.  Her message is, “relax, do your best, have fun, and try to do better the next time”.  Kendell runs with The Heat Track Club in Marietta, Georgia and is their most decorated athlete.

Thanks to Coach Blane Williams and Track Mom Terri for sharing their daughter wonderful story