Junior and three-time All-American Harrison Williams significantly increased his chance of securing a spot in the NCAA indoor track and field championships on Saturday with a successful runner-up finish in the heptathlon at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational.

Williams scored 5,825 points this weekend, finishing in second place behind Tim Duckworth of Kentucky (6,006). Despite falling behind in the two-day event on Friday, Williams trimmed a 444-point deficit to only 181 in Saturday’s final three events.

In the shot put, Williams set a personal record of 45-1 (13.74 meters) on his first throw. Likewise, he finished No. 1 in the pole vault, marking 17-5 ½ (5.32 meters), just short of his personal record of 17-8 ½ (5.40 meters) that he set earlier this season.

In the past two NCAA outdoor championships, Williams placed fourth and fifth respectively in the decathlon, and in last year’s NCAA indoor championship, he placed fourth in the heptathlon.

This year’s indoor championship is held Mar. 10-11 in College Station, Texas. The tournament welcomes the top 16 heptathletes. Historically, a heptathlete with 5,700 points or more is not denied a spot in the tournament.

If Williams secures a spot in the NCAA championship, he will likely join Stanford’s women’s distance medley relay team, who are also contenders.

Until then, next weekend is an important qualifying weekend for the Stanford team since it has athletes heading to the Iowa State Classic, the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, the Husky Classic in Seattle and the Millrose Games in New York.

Contact Sydney Shaw at sshaw17 ‘at’ stanford.edu.