Micah Williams ran a season best and broke 10 seconds in the 100 meters, but the Oregon Ducks junior had to settle for seventh place Friday night at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas.
Williams crossed the line in 9.99 seconds, taking seventh at the NCAA meet for the second year in a row. Williams, who prepped at Portland’s Benson High School, placed third in the 100 at the NCAA championships two years ago.
Texas Tech’s Courtney Lindsey won Friday’s race in 9.89 seconds, just edging LSU’s Godson Oghenebrume (9.90) and Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi (9.91).
Williams was the lone athlete in action for the Oregon men on Friday as the men’s events wrapped up. His finish did give the Ducks two points, but that was all they mustered.
Florida won the men’s meet with 57 points, followed by runner-up Arkansas (53) and third-place Stanford (44).
The Ducks’ Taylor Chocek closed out the first day of the heptathlon in 19th place with 3,371 points. The seven-discipline event wraps up Saturday along with most of the women’s finals. The UO women enter Saturday in second place in the team standings, with 17 points.
In addition to Chocek, the Ducks will have three runners in the women’s 1,500-meter final, plus entries in the 4×100 and 4×400 relay finals.