Run fast and turn left.
As the indoor track season for Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) track and field team approaches the RMAC championships, redshirt sophomore Elijah Williams is looking to fulfill his goal of going to Nationals.
“Our seasons have been going great, we have destroyed our top ten lists and set many school records so far. We are extremely excited for the upcoming RMAC’s and NCAA’s. Our team is really coming together and ready to be smoking fast over the next couple weeks,” CMU Assistant Track and Field Coach Tim Reetz said.
The holder of CMU’s outdoor 200-meter and indoor 60-meter records, Williams has always been fast. From racing as a kid growing up in the small town of Guymon, Oklahoma to training as a high schooler at Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado, he’s continued to push himself.
“I was always a little fast boy when I was younger, I would always race. It’s a small town. You know if you’re the fastest kid in town, that’s a slight flex,” Williams said.
Growing up, Williams would race his friends and brothers, pushing each other to get better. One of his friends back in Oklahoma, Keyshawn Williams, was a part of his drive to get faster.
“We would always race and we would always just go back and back again. We were just trying to be faster than each other. And at one point in time, he was always faster. […] I was always trying to beat his times. I just really wanted to be fast,” Williams said.
Another big part of Williams’ competitiveness was his family, especially his brothers. He’d try and emulate them growing up, such as having a similar hair style or dressing the same.
“My family is everything. They’re the why for me,” Williams said. “[…] Growing up, not really having much money, really struggling, that engraves a kind of want in you. I always look to my brothers for guidance and have always looked up to them.”
One of William’s big goals for the future is to open a youth track group for those who are economically and socially disadvantaged. At first, he wanted to be a counselor, but turned to the track group because he wants to stay active physically while still being a mentor and role model.
“The way I was growing up, I never really had like the personal trainers because I was in a small town, the coaches we had [just] wanted to fill a spot. […] I never really had somebody that’s pushing me or a little group that I can join because I never really had the money to do so. I had to figure out how to do it as cheaply as I could, which is usually free because I can’t put money into it,” Williams said.
After being told at Gateway that he could go compete in college, something Williams never really thought was in the cards, he came to CMU, where the team pushes him as much as he pushes them.
While Williams is looking towards the RMAC Indoor Championships starting on February 25, the transition to outdoor track is another thing that can be difficult for athletes as the outdoor season starts.
“So far this season, Elijah has really found that elite level speed and focus,” Reetz said. “He’s competing in heats with some of the fastest men in D2 and D1 and is learning how to finish his races. […] The best is yet to come though.”
Racing with the fastest means having a strong mentality on the track, even when distances change.
“Most tracks are about 200 meters total [for a lap]. Outdoor tracks are 400 meters. So, if you’re running a 400 with two laps, it’s really hard on the mentality. It’s because you’re so used to running one lap outdoors that two laps get to your head,” Williams said.
To help with his overall mentality in races, Williams has a few things to calm nerves. One of them is listening to music, which helps him escape. He listens as he trains, usually to more mellow and relaxed songs to stay calm and collected.
“I do notice when I’m just being my complete self, goofy, skipping around, bouncing my head, just being myself, being goofy is when I do my best,” Williams said.
The mentality he has is helped by coaches and teammates.
“Sometimes I get nervous if I’m being myself because I get in my head on my own. What if I’m making a fool of myself? What if people are judging me? I don’t want to make myself look dumb. So many people tell me when I’m just acting like myself and I’m being goofy, they don’t see me as dumb. I’m just being myself. And they say I’m a really good person to be around, which is cool, because back in the day when I was younger, I didn’t feel like that. I thought I was doing everything wrong,” Williams said.
His approach to each meet is to break records and stay consistent.
“Elijah will be competing for RMAC Championships in the fastest RMAC that we have ever seen, [and] he will have the opportunity to do the same at Nationals. We couldn’t be more excited and proud for him and our team,” Reetz said.
