The Texas A&M High School Indoor Classic provided no shortage of incredible performances.
From Brian Herron's unbelievable open 200m and 4x400 split to all three of Bailey Lear's 400m runs to Eric Edwards tearing up the 60m hurdles, what more could you have asked for?
But the high jump had more intrigue than most realize over the two-day meet, as both York (NE) High's Mayson Conner and College Station (TX) High's Annika Williams set meet records and cleared U.S. No. 1 marks.
It was Williams, though, who stole the show in the high jump, leaping to a new personal best of 5 feet, 9.25 inches, a mark that broke the meet record by over three inches.
"When it came to 5-9 and I missed it, I just told myself, 'You've done this before, you can do it again,'" Williams said. "So I just went over there, kept my head up, and kept trying."
She also paced everyone in the long jump. Her 18-11 mark was impressive in its own right, but what's more is that her 20-1.25 personal best is from the summer.
If you haven't heard of the junior from College Station, you should keep reading. Williams is currently the national leader in the high jump and returns with the seventh-best mark among long jumpers in the country.
Her 5-9.25 already puts her in the top 15 among returners in the country for the outdoor season. But it's hardly just the high jump and long jump that makes Williams a name to be known on the national level.
She's also a national record holder.
At the USATF Junior Olympics Region 12 Championship in Humble, Texas, Williams posted a national record mark of 5,101 points in the heptathlon for the 15-16-year-old age group. In fact, she's one of only three female athletes in the country who scored over 5,000 points a year ago in the multis.
Calabasas (CA) High junior Tierra Crockrell and Queen's (NY) senior Sophia Myers are the other two. Valor Christian (CO) High junior Anna Hall and Phoebus (VA) High freshman Jahnelle Saunders are two more to watch out for in 2018 as well.
More than that, Williams put up a number of incredible marks at that meet -- predicated by her high and long jumps, of course -- though her record was supplemented by impressive showings in the shot put, 100mH, and in the 800m, an event where some multi-athletes throw in the towel.
If she can improve her throwing events, Williams could be on the verge of something truly special in the heptathlon and could be preparing to take the country by storm.
