FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A year after his twin brother earned All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships for Northwestern State, Aaron Williams aims to do the same Saturday evening in the men's triple jump.
Williams is among the 16 top competitors in the nation who qualified for the national meet in the triple jump. His 52-4 ½ leap at LSU just over two weeks ago ranks 15th in the field.
All competitors who get in a legal mark will earn at least second-team All-America honors. The top eight finishers are first-team All-Americans when the honors are issued next week by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Williams' brother, Emmanuel, who is making his 2015 debut Saturday at the Cowboy Relays in Lake Charles, finished fourth in the long jump at last year's NCAA Indoors. His experience and advice has been valuable for his brother.
"He's told me to have the mindset that I'm as good as anyone there, so to treat it like any other competition, except that here the whole field is as good as you are, and enjoy it. It's a great opportunity," said Aaron Williams, who will begin competition at 6 p.m. Saturday night.
"I've been training hard and working toward this goal of getting to the national meet and showing my stuff," he said. "Last spring outdoors, I thought I was heading in the right direction, but it didn't work out and I didn't make it. Now is my chance to shine and I'm hoping to take advantage of it."
NSU head coach Mike Heimerman will be with the Demons and Lady Demons in Lake Charles, while assistant coaches and jumps specialist Wes Miller will be in Fayetteville.
Heimerman is confident Williams can shine at his first NCAA meet.
"He's trained great, he's in peak form, and he'll be lifted up by the caliber of competition, I feel sure," said Heimerman. "He's definitely in range of a top 10 finish with a good series. It's a great accomplishment to make it to a national meet, especially indoors where there are eight less competitors in every event, and we're very proud of him. Nothing good would surprise us."
Williams will be redshirted outdoors, with the twins both competing for NSU indoors and outdoors as seniors in 2016.
