Eastlake’s Williams wraps up junior season with strong outlook on senior season

Eastlake junior Jaelyn Williams, three-time state qualifier in the girls 3200 run, placed fourth in the distance in 10:12.15 at this year’s state championship May 30-31 in Clovis.

In her first trip to Clovis, she led late in the race before coming in with a fourth-place finish (10:11.01). She won the event last year in a 9:57.11 PR by making some adjustments to her strategy, which worked famously.

Williams said more alternations to her game plan were needed for this year’s sizzling race. They didn’t all work out to her advantage, however.

“The heat (107 daytime temperature) was definitely tough to run in, but I feel like I dealt with it pretty well,” Williams said. “I was trying my best to stay cool before the race and to hydrate well. Since my race wasn’t until 9:20 p.m., the temperatures weren’t as extreme as they were earlier that day, but it was still pretty hot during my race.

“It was a little warmer than I wanted but I wouldn’t consider it one of my bigger concerns.
“With the heat this year and the stacked field, I raced a little differently from how I had raced in my freshman and sophomore years. In my previous years, I would go out at a fast pace and would attempt to run even splits. This year, however, my strategy was to go out a little more conservatively in the first mile and then pick up the pace from there. I also knew that a few of the girls would go out fast, but with the extreme heat I didn’t want to exhaust myself in the first half of the race and put myself into oxygen debt too soon like I did at the CIF cross country state championships this season.

“My strategy didn’t exactly play out as planned. The leaders took it out really quick and the rest of the field followed. They went out in a 71-second first lap while I went out in a 74, which is a bit faster than what I wanted. I went through the mile in 5:01 which is faster than what I planned for. I felt that I still needed to be up there with the leading group or else I would fall off pace, but I think going out that fast exhausted me just enough to be unable to execute the second part of the plan successfully. I wasn’t able to pick up the pace as much as I wanted to in the second half of the 3200, but I think that if I had gone out more conservatively than I had, I probably would have been able to close better. I know I can run faster than 10:12, which is the time I finished in; I just didn’t execute the race right. Although it was a season’s best, I was hoping for a better time. I haven’t had much opportunity to race other girls this season, so I think my unpreparedness for racing (went) against plan execution.”

The time was a season best but nowhere near the personal best she ran last year at the state meet.

Montgomery senior Hanne Thomsen won this year’s 3200 in 9:48.98 while Corona Santiago senor Rylee Blade also dipped under the magic 10-minute mark to take second in 9:50.51.

Canyon Crest Academy Katja Dunayevich placed 12th overall in 10:27.88.

La Jolla junior Chiara Dailey, third in the 1600, failed to finish the 3200 after nosing out Williams for the section title in 10:15.74.

Still, the prospect of being a three-time state medalist is alluring.

“Although I didn’t place or perform how I would have liked to, I feel blessed and grateful to be able to perform at this level and continue to place on the podium every year,” Williams acknowledged. “God has given me many blessings and I am always thankful to have Him by my side in my races, especially on these bigger stages. I know California is a very competitive state in track and just making it to this level is often a huge accomplishment.”

The 2025 spring season was not quite over. Williams traveled to the Brooks PR to compete in the two-mile event June 8 in Seattle. She also competed in the 5K, 3K and the mile in the Nike Outdoor Nationals June 19-22 in Eugene, Ore.

“I’m very excited to get to race against the top girls in the nation and for the experience,” Williams said. “Going to these national events are always so fun and I always have a great experience when I’m up there.”

The prospect of encountering top-flight competition obviously was a big personal draw as well as to provide a barometer of where she stands at the national level.

It’s pretty high.

Williams placed runner-up in the women’s 1500 in 4:22.32 at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene on June 20 to earn All-American U20 honors. She came back an hour and a half later to place fourth in the 3000 in 9:36.11 for a second All-American honor with another lifetime best time.

Her outlook for her upcoming senior season is decidedly positive, barring any injuries. After that, she will continue her running career in both cross country and track and field at Stanford University.

“Going into my senior season, I am overall hoping to improve my times and the way I race,” she said. “This last season in both cross country and track, I had injuries at the beginning of the season — Achilles tendinitis resulted in me losing the first half of my cross country season and a pulled hamstring led to me losing the first half of my track season — and so I had very little time to be able to come up to full speed by the end of the season.
“Although I still made some great accomplishments my junior year, I was hoping to be able to accomplish more. Next season, I will focus on staying healthy and ultimately just try to improve in every way I can to become the fastest I can be.”

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Williams was among four Metro Conference athletes to earn medals at this years’ state championship meet, joining Otay Ranch senior Zamaria Mack (fifth, girls 300 low hurdles, 41.81), Mater Dei Catholic junior Mekhi Oluwa (seventh, boys long jump, 22-8.5) and Olympian senior Gabrielle Hawkins (eighth, girls 400 dash, 56.51).