Champions' TriBUne Archive

By: Wil London
 
Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that will give you the student-athlete's perspective and tell their story in their voice. Wil London III is a six-time All-American who broke a 15-year-old school record when he won the 400 meters at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships with a time of 45.19 seconds. The Waco, Texas, native will compete in the 400 and 4x400 relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships that begin Friday in Birmingham, Ala.:

We've had a lot of great athletes that have come out of Waco. I feel like there's been a lot of them who were greater than I am, they just took the wrong turn. I want to be that one that can show the kids in Waco that even though I've faced adversity and I've been around a lot of people that may not have been great for me, I was able to dodge those bullets and turn in my own direction.
 
What made it easier for me is that I had a mom and a dad in my life that would tell me right from wrong. I feel like sometimes the great athletes just didn't have that one person to look up to, or that one person to tell them right from wrong. I want to be that person.
 
I'm always talking to younger people from Waco. And I don't necessarily tell them what to do or what not to do, but I just say, "Look, you can get this if you do this." I'll talk to them about the opportunities I've had or even show them the medals I've earned and say, "Look, if you make the wrong decision, then you won't be able to get this in the near future. Think about your future, not just at that moment."
 
I feel like that's been a lot of the issues with kids in Waco. They think about at-that-moment feelings instead of the future.
 
I'm graduating in May, and I'm going to get my teacher's certificate and end up coaching. I'm not sure where, but I would like it to be at Waco High if they have an opportunity, just because I'd like to keep it at home and help the kids here in Waco the way that I was helped.
 
I started running when I was 4 years old and competing in meets at the old Baylor track. My dad would officiate at the Baylor track meets, and I would always go with him. So, I've watched the Baylor greats. I watched Jeremy (Wariner) growing up. I always tried to base my running off of him. It's just crazy, because I've got shirts in my closet signed by Coach Hart and Jeremy and Sanya (Richards). I've trained with Jeremy and Coach Hart is my coach now.
 
Basketball was really my first love. I took basketball more seriously than track, but I did both in the summer. I would play AAU basketball and run summer track. I started going to some basketball camps and I was getting some interest from some small colleges.
 
When I started getting coached by Woodrow Randall, who ran here at Baylor, I really started to progress in track and my times started to show. I fell in love with track, and I really wanted to go with what I loved the most. So, I just stuck with track.

I really didn't get recruited that much. I only went on three visits – Louisiana-Monroe, Baylor and Tennessee. I visited Tennessee, but they didn't call me back after my visit. Louisiana-Monroe wanted to give me a scholarship, but they figured since I went on the other two visits that they didn't really have anything to offer me.
 
At the time, there were a lot of guys faster than me. The one guy that was on the map for track was Chris Platt, who's now here at Baylor for football and track. He won the 400 meters at the state track meet as a freshman, sophomore and junior, so everybody else was pretty much on the back burner. And I really wasn't dropping times. I was just the local guy that was fast.
 
My junior year, I finished third in state behind Steve Champlin, who's now at Arizona State, and Chris Platt. I ran 47.66, which really wasn't as fast as I should have been running as a junior and senior. So, I really figured I wouldn't get a lot of offers. My dad and I were mainly focused on some of the smaller schools. But when I got back from Austin, I had a letter in the mail from Coach Hart saying they were interested in me. That right there told me I could do it. I already knew I wanted to come to Baylor.
 
From the first day I stepped foot on campus and came out to practice, Coach Hart told me, "Just listen, and I'll get you where you want to be." I told Coach that I wanted to be one of the greatest to come out of Baylor, if not the greatest. And he said, "If you listen to everything I say, I'll make sure it happens." From then on, our connection has been on point every time.


 
When you have someone that has coached the greatest, it's always going to be a lot easier. He definitely has the credentials. I feel like Coach Hart is the best 400-meter coach ever. He's coached Michael Johnson, Sanya, Jeremy. And they were telling me, too, listen to what Coach Hart says.
 
We've had our little bumps in the road, like small injuries, but him and I both know that the results would have been a lot better if those injuries hadn't happened. We also know that everything happens for a reason. And right now, with me being healthy, the times and the facts are showing.
 
At the end of my sophomore year, I was coming off another loss at the NCAAs, so I was really down in the dumps. I didn't even want to go to the USA Championships, but Coach was like, "You still have a lot left in you, and I know you can run. So, let's go." I made it to the semis, and I knew they were taking four from each heat. I ended up coming in fourth and making it to the finals, and I got Lane 1. That's the same lane I had at nationals, so that just mentally messed me up. I was like, "Man, I'm not going to be able to do this. I tried this at nationals and we saw what happened."
 
Coach talked to me before the race and told me about this guy named Wayde (van Niekerk) that had just won the Olympics and broke the world record running out of Lane 8. He said I could do it, too. I ended up coming in third and shocked myself. I didn't believe it. I was just trying to come in fifth or sixth so I could get on the relay. But when I came in third, it was amazing. Coach didn't even believe it. I hadn't seen him that happy in a long time.
 
At the World Championships in London, my body was tired, I had a long season. And Coach knew that. At that point, he said, "Just try to hold on and make it through the meet." I tried to do as much as I could, but I didn't make the finals in the 400. I was still bummed, because mentally I was ready. I knew I could do it. But physically, my body just wouldn't let me do it.
 
I still ran the 4x4 and came back with a silver medal, so I'll take it. It was cool, just because I was so young, I hadn't even turned 20 yet. Not a lot of people my age are able to experience something like that. But, I had to realize that it doesn't matter what your age is, you just have to go out there and compete. The guys that you're going against don't care what your age is, because they're grown and that's their job, that's what they get paid to do. I just had to go out there and enjoy myself, but at the same time I had to treat it like a business.


 
I felt like I belonged there, because I deserved it, I earned that spot. When you earn it, that shouldn't be an awe moment. I was excited about being there, but I wanted to let people know that I earned that spot. It wasn't like everybody else ran a bad race and I just snuck in there. No, I ran a great race, I earned my spot.
 
Going into the Big 12 indoor meet, I knew I was going to break Jeremy's record. Before I left the hotel that morning, I told my roommate, Antwuan (Musgrove), "I'm breaking the record today." I had talked to Coach about it, and he said there's a record on the wall that needs to be broken. I thought I had run a 44, so that was a little disappointing, but I knew I had the record.
 
Back in November, my mom told me that she had a brain tumor, but I really didn't know what was going on. As a team captain, you still have to come out here and try to put everything that's bothering behind you and just focus on the team. So, that's exactly what I was doing. And then the closer she got to surgery, the more it affected me. I had some sleepless nights, but I knew I still had to come out here and do what I have to do.
 
When she went in for the surgery, it was a scary moment. But, the whole family was there. The thing is, I know how strong my mom is. But, I couldn't be down because I knew my mom was watching me. The doctors said they got everything and the test came back negative. What a blessing!
 
Since Day 1, she has impacted my life in so many ways. I've always looked to her for guidance. Growing up, she was at every track meet, every basketball game I played. She hasn't been to a meet since our first meet at Tech, and she's not going to nationals, but she'll be back when we go to Los Angeles for the USC meet. I know I'm going to be so excited to look up in the stands and see her there. My mom has always been my rock.
 
Family is everything to me.
 
That's what really motivates me every day. I want to have a better life for my family and I want to be able to support them. They're doing great, it's not like we're living in Section 8 housing or anything. But, I have three nephews and four nieces, and I just want to be the man they can look up to. They don't really have their fathers around, so I have to play the big brother role. And if they get in trouble in school, or anything, I'll just talk to them and try to keep them motivated. I want to show them and really all the kids in Waco that you can come out of this city and be one of the greats to come out of here.



Previous Champions' TriBUne Features
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)