The motivation for Williams, though, perhaps more so than winning, is to reach the 50-foot plateau.
"I want to hit that 50," he said. "I have to hit that 50."
If he does that, he'd almost undoubtedly come out on top.
At Saturday's meet Williams finished a foot shy of his personal best in the triple jump, but still won the event at 48 feet, 7 inches. Bay Shore senior Brandon Hutchinson was second at 48. Williams' win in the triple jump came immediately after a first-place finish in the high jump, making him one of only three boys at the meet to win multiple individual events. Riverhead senior Michael Smith won the shot put and discus and North Babylon senior Berfrantz Charles won the 100 dash and long jump.
"I was just trying to do my best, that's it," Williams said.
While the favorite in the triple jump -- one of the most competitive events of the meet -- Williams faced equally as challenging opponents in the high jump, an event he only started this year. Copiague senior Tyrek English boasted a seed mark of 7 feet, although he hadn't come close to hitting that mark again since the Bob Pratt Invitational in April. Five other jumpers came in with seed marks of 6-03 or better.
"I started [high jumping] in the winter," Williams said. "I've always been interested in high jumping and [the coaches] told me I could high jump one day, and they liked what they saw."
Williams equaled his personal best at Port Jefferson High School Saturday, clearing 6-06. He called it quits after winning the event because the triple jump had already started. There was no point in wasting energy on extra high jumps when there was still business at hand.
Williams said he'd like to climb another two inches in the high jump. He'll get an opportunity this weekend in Vestal, N.Y., where seven jumpers --including English -- come into the meet with a seed of 6-07 or higher.
"Even with all this heat, [Williams] had a great day in the high jump," said Longwood coach Joe Reilly. "His legs were a little tired in the triple, but he still jumped 48-07."
Williams will have plenty of company at the state meet. Longwood had two relay teams qualify with their 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 teams. Senior Jave Walker qualified in the 100 dash and junior Joe Payton qualified in the 400-hurdles.
In the final event of the afternoon Saturday, the Lions won the 4 x 400 relay in 3:18.45, beating their preliminary time from a day earlier by close to seven seconds. They topped their seed time by six seconds.
The team of Payton, Joe Fuller, Ray Austin and Oliver Philogene beat out Hills West by .54.
Their time is good enough to be seeded fifth at the state meet.
The Lions came up short to North Babylon in the 4 x 100, but their time of 42.35 for second place was good enough for the team to qualify. The team consisted of Walker, Mark Jackson, Blake Evans and Dannie Holland. North Babylon won the event in 42.14.
"We ran our best time, 43.03, in the trials and I was very happy with that," Reilly said. "Did I think 42.35 was coming? No way."
The 4 x 100 relay team is seeded sixth at the state meet and North Babylon is third.
Walker posted a personal best time of 11.11 in the 100 to finish second. Payton also set a personal best in the 400-hurdles, taking third in 54.76. Mark Castilletti of Bayport-Blue Point won the event. Since Bayport is a Division II team, it allowed Payton to qualify as a third-place finisher since he topped the qualifying standard.
Mount Sinai senior Alex Guzman finished third in the 100, .03 seconds behind Walker. Guzman also ran the 200 and qualified by finishing second in 22.44, a time that breaks the school record he had set earlier this season. Northport senior Dorian Hayden won the 200 in 22.39.
joew@northshoresun.com