TRACK AND FIELD : Covina Teen Old Enough for Sprint Title

Angela Williams, 15, won the USA Junior Track and Field women’s 100 meters championship in a meet record 11.24 seconds Friday night at Mt. San Antonio College, then couldn’t wait to start packing.

“I’m out of here!” Williams said.

Williams was gleeful because it earned her a trip to Santiago, Chile, Sept. 1-3, where she will compete as a member of the U.S. junior team at the Junior Pan American Games.

Williams, a freshman at Covina High, often trains on the Mt. San Antonio College track and was cheered to victory by hometown fans.

Her winning time places her among the nation’s greatest names in the event. It was the second-fastest time run in the 15-and-under age group and the fourth-fastest time run by a high school girl. The fastest time, 11.17, was run by Marion Jones in 1991.

Williams’ coach, Ernie Gregoire, of the Southern California Cheetahs Track Club, wouldn’t say Williams is his best athlete ever, but, “she is the most precocious.”

Williams beat second-place Kwajalein Butler, who will be a sophomore at Louisiana State, by .19 seconds. Butler finished sixth in the 100 at the NCAA Championships and ran on the Lady Tigers’ winning 400-meter relay.

In the men’s long jump, Clarence Scott, a junior at Fremont High, placed second with a leap of 24-8. Dominick Millner, a freshman at the University of Florida, won the event at 25-3.

The meet ends today when field events begin at 10 a.m. and running events start at 6 p.m.