June 10, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Baylor senior Darold Williamson (San Antonio, Texas) clocked a personal-best 44.27, the fastest time in the world this year, in the semifinals of the 400 meters Friday at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex on the campus of Sacramento State.
"I didn't know I was running that fast," said Williamson, who took a brief glance at the scoreboard, walked off the track and gathered his gear as if he was ready to run the finals right away. "I just wanted to run hard, because I was upset with my finish last year (sixth at the NCAA Championships, fourth at the Olympic Trials). I was comfortable out there and I'm not tired now. I executed, did what I was supposed to do, ran a smart race and got lucky with the time. My goal is 43, because now that I've seen it, I know I can do it."
Williamson will enter Saturday's final as the top seed with the rest of the field no closer than .66 seconds behind in the semis. The time eclipses his previous best of 44.51 at the 2004 Midwest Region Championships in College Station, Texas, and is the fastest all-time at Baylor in a collegiate meet and the third-fastest overall. Jeremy Wariner clocked the Baylor record of 44.00 at the 2005 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, while Michael Johnson ran his 44.21 in Reiti, Italy, in 1990.
"Very seldom do I get surprised, but today I was surprised," head coach Clyde Hart said. "I expected him to run well, but not the fastest time in the world. He wasn't extended, so I know he didn't do anything foolish out there, so it definitely sends a message. I told him, `That's the semis, so the No. 1 time in the world doesn't mean anything if he doesn't finish it tomorrow.'"
The final field against Williamson will be Arkansas' Terry Gatson (44.93), Florida State's Ricardo Chambers (44.94), Mississippi State's Jamel Ashley (44.98), LSU's Kelly Willie (45.12), Southeast Missouri's Miles Smith (45.12), Texas Tech's Andrae Williams (45.18) and Oregon's Kedar Inico (45.22).
The finals of the 400 meters are Saturday at 6:05 p.m. PDT, and Williamson will turn around and anchor the Bears in the finals of the 4x400-meter relay at 8:40 p.m. PDT.
