By Justin Janssen '11
The first two years of Tommy Williams '11 track career could be summarized in three words: "How's the knee?" Brophy distance coach Mike Keahon '73 asked those words to Williams on a daily basis.
Williams is tall and thin, ideal for a distance runner, but in his early years he was still growing into the body.
"I was just in too much pain to really do much of anything during track season," said Williams. "It taught me I really have to persevere to do well and succeed in distance running. From that time forward I have improved a lot because of everything I've learned that season."
In his junior season, Williams exploded onto the Arizona Track scene by capturing the May 12 5A-I state championship in the mile with a time of 4:21:10.
During the meet of champions May 22, Williams imprinted his name into Brophy's record book by clearing Keahon's 37-year old record of 1:54:9 in the half mile.
Relatively new coach Alex Mason '05 has pushed Williams and teammate Will Firth '11 during their senior seasons by running workouts together showing that he's not just a coach on the sidelines.
"He's really been instrumental in helping Will and myself take our running to the next level," said Williams. "He provides sage advice and is a great balance to coach Keahon."
For college, Williams is looking at the Ivy Leagues in Brown and Columbia University, and is also considering Santa Clara.
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