PORTLAND, Ore — He's the fastest man in Oregon.
Benson High School's Micah Williams owns the Oregon state championship meet records in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash--and he did it as a sophomore. He was looking forward to another historic performance, but his senior year was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I just miss running," said Williams. "This would have been the year when I broke all the records. It would have really been untouchable unless you were Olympic bound, but I can't really do anything about it. It was devastating, but life happens, you can't really control what happens. You gotta just go with the flow."
Ribbons and medals cover the walls of his bedroom. He's even got the 4.0-grade point average to back it up. He anchored Team USA to gold in the 4x100 at the IAAF World U20 Championships.
He's ready for the next level and Williams had options to run at some of the top college programs in the country. He picked Oregon.
"I won't get an experience like this at another school. This is Track Town USA."
It's a chance to stay close to family and compete at the new Hayward Field in Eugene, home to the 2021 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.
"Now seeing it, it's like 10 times better than what we expected. it's crazy because World Championships will be there, Olympic Trials are going to be there, basically, all the meets are going to be there and I'm going to be ready for it," said Williams.
He's got dreams of running in the Olympics one day and he's patiently waiting for competition to resume, working from home in the meantime.
"I know I'm not going to be running until January or maybe February of next year so basically I'm just trying to stay focused and motivated."
Training at the University of Oregon with world-class facilities and talented teammates is all the motivation Williams needs.
"To see the stadium and where I'm going to be running, talking to the coaches is helping me stay more motivated because I know what's next," said Williams. "I may not have a meet, but I know I'll be training in the stadium, with training partners. We have tremendous people and tremendous talent. That's what I'm looking forward to."