Kiah Williams Named Big 12 Track and Field Athlete of the WeekKiah Williams Named Big 12 Track and Field Athlete of the Week

Kiah Williams Named Big 12 Track and Field Athlete of the Week

by Alex Clough

ORLANDO – New eras bring forth many firsts for a program to accomplish, and this afternoon, the Knights saw another. As announced by the conference office Wednesday, Kiah Williams has been named the Big 12 Track and Field Athlete of the Week following a remarkable weekend at the Knights Invite. 

The honor marks the first weekly track and field award for a Knight in one of the nation’s premier conferences, and for Williams, her second-career athlete of the week award and first during the outdoor season. The senior shares the honor with Baylor’s Alexis Brown.

After a promising debut at the Black and Gold Invitational, the first of two home meets to open the latter half of 2024 for the Knights, Williams went a step further this past weekend. Competing in the 200m for the second-consecutive week, along with a 400m debut, the Hallandale, Florida, native stormed out to two conference leads.

On Friday, she went sub-23 seconds for the first time in her career and became the third athlete in the nation to do so. Williams won the 200m (22.95) convincingly, as she led a trio of Knights in the top three. The performance also continued her climb up the program record books, as she currently sits sixth all-time in the event.

Not only does the time lead the Big 12, but also ranks 28th in the world through the early stages of the season. 

Just an hour after being honored in UCF’s senior day ceremonies to commence Saturday’s action at the Knights invite, she appeared in her first 400m of the outdoor season. Her eventual triumph in the event came in just under a full second, as she went sub-52 seconds for the second time in her career.

While Williams remains second in program history, the early breakthrough opens an array of possibilities as she’ll look to remain among the top athletes in the conference as outdoor season rolls on. The performance garnered Williams her second lead in the Big 12 and yet another top-40 time in the world (39).

Through two weeks, the senior is the only athlete in the conference to rank among the top three in the nation in two events (second in the 400m and third in the 200m) and among the top 50 in the world in two events.

The Knights will be back in action this weekend at the Florida Relays in Gainesville from March 29-30. Williams set her current personal best in the 400m (51.59) in her most recent appearance at the James G. Pressly Stadium during the Tom Jones Memorial in 2023.