With poise and confidence, Kendall Williamson ’22 steps onto the starting line of the 55-meter girls sprint. Ready, set, go! Pushing off the starting block with all her strength, Kendall Williamson ’22 swiftly flies into first place. With five years of running experience, Williamson has become one of the best girls sprinters in PHS track history.

   Growing up, Williamson was an avid gymnast in pursuit of becoming a collegiate gymnast. However, after multiple injuries during her eight year career, including fracturing her back, she decided to quit the sport. Looking for a sport to replace gymnastics, she started running track in the spring of eighth grade. During her first season, she noticed that her experience with the vault in gymnastics aided her transition to sprinting, both of which require the ability to initiate a strong start. 

   Joining track at PHS in her freshman year, PHS short-distance track coach Ben Samara was impressed by both her natural talent and perseverance. Williamson’s track career quickly began picking up pace and in her sophomore year, she won two county titles, one for the 55-meter dash and another for the 200. In her junior year, she was named a co-captain of the track team.

   “She’s a very talented athlete, like one of the best ever at PHS. I think she even scored a record on one of the relay teams when she was a freshman or a sophomore, which is definitely a huge accomplishment. At every meet she's always placing very high in the rankings, and we're all super proud of what she's accomplished,” said teammate Katherine Monroe ’23. 

   While Williamson likes to joke around with her teammates beforehand, her focus sharpens as soon as she puts one foot on the block. Over the years, her commitment and tenacity have led her to win many competitive titles, break a PHS record in the 4x100 relay, and qualify for prestigious national meets. At the 2022 New Balance Indoor Nationals, her 55-meter dash time was 7.39 seconds, achieving a personal record and missing the school record by two hundredths of a second.

   “[She’s] improved her mental focus. We work on new stuff every single day, and she's done a great job improving on those points.” Samara said.

   Of course, Williamson’s success didn’t come overnight. Long hours of training her timings on the block, practicing her strides, and improving her mentality, are what allowed her to build sufficient stamina and mental resistance.

   “It gets hard sometimes, but quitting has never crossed my mind. I love running and I want to continue to do it,” Williamson said.

   COVID-19 was one of the biggest challenges Williamson had to face. During the track season in 2020, her favorite feeling of flying across the finish line was temporarily put on hold as many meets were canceled. To keep training, the team transitioned onto the PHS track. 

   “We are very used to being able to practice twice a week at Jadwin gym at Princeton University in the winter and for two seasons now we haven't been able to do that. Having to adjust to doing workouts outside is something that we're still working on, but we're trying to make the best of every moment,” Samara said.

   Looking towards the spring season, Williamson hopes to break the school record for the 100-meter and 200-meter dash and place in the top ten in the state for the same events. 

   “It's looking like she's right there,” said Samara. “Right now she’s one of the top three or four we've had and is close to breaking a bunch of school records this year.”

   Williamson plans to continue her track career as a DI commit to Wake Forest University. Becoming a collegiate track athlete was a dream turned reality for Williamson, and she hopes to inspire others to work towards their goals.

   “Work hard. Stay positive. It's really important to have a good mindset because if you're negative that really affects your performance. Just keep working hard because it really does pay off in the end,” Williamson said.

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