Will Williams, an NCAA Champion long jumper at the collegiate level, was named to Jim Patchell’s Arkansas State track and field staff ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Williams coaches the A-State horizontal jumpers (long and triple jump). He was a three-year letterwinner at Texas A&M from 2016-18 where he competed in the long jump and 100 meters, while also being a part of the Aggies’ 4x100-meter relay squad.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Will Williams to our program,” head coach Jim Patchell said. “Coach Williams has an outstanding background as both a world-class athlete and coach. He has a wealth of knowledge pertaining to the horizontal jumps and is also a former NCAA national champion in the long jump while at Texas A&M. More importantly, Coach Williams is a man of high character and integrity and I know he will be of tremendous benefit to our program as we continue to build upon past successes and as we look forward to greater things.”
The Chicago, Illinois, native captured the long jump crown at the SEC and NCAA Indoor Championships in 2018, placing second in the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships. Also in 2017, Williams placed eighth at the USATF Outdoor Championships.
Williams owns the Texas A&M indoor long jump record with a mark of 8.19m (26-10.5), which was achieved at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station and is the current Gilliam Indoor Stadium facility record. He closed out his career ranked fourth all-time at A&M in the outdoor long jump with a collegiate-best mark of 8.05m (26-5) at the 2018 SEC Outdoor Championships, where he placed second with a wind-aided mark of 8.25m (27-1.0).
Prior to his two seasons with the Aggies, Williams was an NJCAA runner-up in 2014 at Iowa Western Community College in the long jump during the indoor (25-6) and outdoor (25-0) championships. He placed third in the USATF Junior Championships (24-11) and won the Kansas Relays long jump with a wind-aided mark of 25-2.5.
“Joining Arkansas State’s program is an amazing feeling,” Williams said. “They have nice beautiful new facilities, as well as nice people to go along with them. I’m passionate in what I do in my training and personal goals, but I am more passionate when it comes to helping others figure out their craft and making them better. I look forward to producing multiple conference and national champions while also pursuing a team national championship.”
