Georgia junior Kendell Williams has ended her third indoor season in the exact fashion as she ended her first two – by being named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.
 
 
This year, Williams, a native of Marietta, Ga., split the honor with Kansas State’s Akela Jones. Williams became the first student-athlete in history on the men’s or women’s side to be named the nation’s best indoor track or field athlete for three times in a career.
 
 
Williams captured her third consecutive NCAA pentathlon title after setting a collegiate record with 4,703 points for the third straight year. Williams now owns five of the top 10 collegiate pentathlon scores in history. She became the first woman in collegiate history to eclipse the 4,700-point barrier and only the fourth U.S. woman in history to reach that point plateau.
 
 
During the NCAA Indoor Championships last week in Birmingham, Ala., Williams started her five-event pentathlon by besting her own collegiate record in the 60-meter hurdles with an 8.09 to win. Then, she finished second to Jones in the high jump with a 6 feet, 1 ¼ inch clearance.
 
 
Williams complemented her performance with a personal-best mark in the shot put for runner-up honors and jumped nearly 21 feet in the long jump to take third in the fourth event.
 
 
In addition, Williams returned in the open long jump and scored four points for the Lady Bulldogs with a fifth-place finish. Her 14 points helped the Georgia women score a program record 45 points and finish third at indoor Nationals.
 
 
Currently, Williams is with Georgia head coach Petros Kyprianou and Lady Bulldog sophomore Keturah Orji (triple jump) in Portland, Ore., as they prepare for the World Indoor Championships. Williams competes in the pentathlon on Friday.
 
 
The Bulldogs start their outdoor season at home with the Georgia Relays on Friday and Saturday. Action begins at the Spec Towns Track at 12 p.m. Friday afternoon and resumes on Saturday at 11 a.m.