Senior All-American Teddy Williams (left) and junior Devon Bond worked out on Thursday afternoon in preparation of this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Senior All-American Teddy Williams and junior Devon Bond will look to put a successful finishing touch on their indoor seasons this weekend when they compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas.
Williams will begin his quest for UTSA's first-ever national title at 6:25 p.m. on Friday when he runs in the second and final 60-meter dash preliminary heat. The Tyler native enters the weekend with the nation's fifth-fastest time, 6.61, which he recorded in a winning performance at the prestigious New Balance Invitational on Feb. 5.
Friday night will mark his eighth 60m race of the season and he has finished as the top collegian in his previous seven starts this year, including a first-place performance at the Southland Conference Indoor Championships two weeks ago in Norman, Okla. The conference title was his third in a row in the event.
The two-time Southland Athlete of the Year recorded the third-fastest prelims time a year ago, a Southland-record 6.59, and he went on to place eighth in the final.
The winner of each heat, along with the next six fastest times will move on to Saturday's championship race, which is slated for 7:15 p.m.
Meanwhile, Bond learned late Monday night that his UTSA triple jump record of 52-5 ½ (15.99m) was a mere half inch short of qualifying for this weekend's meet. However, in a stunning turn of events, the Trenton, N.J., native found himself in Fayetteville at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday after receiving word from head coach Aaron Fox the previous evening that the NCAA had extended him an invitation following a scratch.
It was an interesting phone call for the Southland's Newcomer of the Year, as he initially blew off Fox because he thought a practical joke was being played on him. However, after 10 minutes of going back and forth with his head coach, Bond realized the opportunity was, in fact, true and his goal of participating at the NCAA Championships had come to fruition.
He enters the meet following his winning performance (52-1 ¾/15.89m) at the Southland Indoor, an effort that gave the Roadrunners their first-ever league champion in the event. Bond has registered three NCAA provisional qualifying marks this winter, including his qualifying record performance at the New Balance Invitational on Feb. 6.
He is slated to compete at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Click here for complete meet information and fans can follow real-time results by clicking here. The NCAA and ESPN also will team up to stream all the action during the two-day event. The NCAA's Friday video stream can be found here and Saturday's action can be accessed by clicking here. ESPN360.com will broadcast the meet beginning at 7:55 p.m. (CT) on Friday and 6:05 p.m. the following night. Meanwhile, ESPN2 will air a 90-minute, tape-delayed show that begins at 11:30 a.m. (CT) on Wednesday, March 17.
Below are photos from Thursday's action in Fayetteville.