In addition to holding the Pacific and Far East meet cross-country records, Matthew C. Perry senior Jane Williams now owns the Pacific's 3,200-meter track and field mark. (Kevin Rossiter/Special to Stripes)
Now that Jane Williams is the Pacific record holder for track and field’s 3,200-meter run, the question is, how much faster can the Matthew C. Perry senior go?
“I’m hoping to get into the 10:40s,” Williams said Tuesday, three days after clocking 11 minutes, 0.89 seconds in what she says is her signature event.
That topped the old Pacific record of 11:04.56, set in 2015 by then-freshman Brittani Shappell of Tokyo’s Seisen International.
Williams now gets to run before her home faithful at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on Saturday, a three-way meet at Perry’s Samurai Field featuring Yokota and E.J. King.
It’s the last weekend of the spring sports season before the annual week-long Easter break, which goes from March 23 to March 31.
Williams said she was as thrilled about her result Saturday as she is looking forward at what might be next.
“It was very exciting,” Williams said. “My goal was to get the record, so I was very happy about that. The record was always there. It was something I knew I was going to get.”
So, what’s next?
“I’m thinking 10:45, that would make me happy,” Williams said, adding that while the 3,200 is her best event, she wants to improve her times in the 1,600 and 800. “I need to focus on the mile (1,600) and 800. Those are my next goals.”
The Pacific 1,600 record for girls is 5:07.45 and the 800 record is 2:19.4. Williams’ best times in those events are 5:13.22 and 2:24.80, each run on March 2 at Zama. Laurie Taylor of Iwakuni recorded a hand-held time of 4:57 in the 1,600 back in 1977.
If she doesn’t meet each of her goals beforehand, Williams says she’ll put them in her sights for the Far East meet scheduled May 2-4 at Yokota. “My coach (Michael Kelley) is really good at getting us to peak at the right time,” she said.
All of this is on the heels of cross country, when she set the Far East meet record (19:19.3) and the Pacific record (18:12.4). She has committed to run cross country and track at Utah State.
One thing Williams says she’ll remember about last Saturday’s meet at Yokota was how cold it was. The temperature read between the high 40s and low 50s as the day progressed, but the wind “real feel” factor was down in the 30s.
“It was very cold. It was very windy,” Williams said. “That was the coldest I’ve ever felt before a race.”
This coming Saturday’s forecast for Iwakuni calls for much warmer climes, up to 65 degrees, with gentle southerly breezes.
Another three-way track meet takes place Saturday at Zama, featuring Robert D. Edgren, Nile C. Kinnick and the host Trojans.
In Korea, Osan’s soccer teams have home and away matches, while Daegu plays twice on the road Friday and Saturday. Osan’s softball team visits Daegu on Saturday, while Humphreys baseball hosts a Korean school on Saturday. Host Humphreys holds track meets on Saturday and next Wednesday, before the spring break.
Okinawa’s schedule shows a track meet in prime time, hosted by Kadena at Ryukyu Middle School under the lights Saturday at Habu Field. A weekday meet Wednesday and Thursday follows at Kubasaki.
Full weekend slates of baseball and softball are on tap in Japan at Kinnick, Zama and King, along with boys and girls soccer matches at King, Perry and Kinnick.
