(KMAland) -- The latest KMA Sports Hall of Fame announcement goes back a little less than 10 years to Auburn, where Hurricane Katrina transplant Tierra Williams was a dominant sprinter and jumper.
Williams’ arrival in Auburn happened nearly overnight, and the sport of track and field helped her with the “culture shock.”
“I struggled making friends due to the cultural differences, but track was a place where I didn’t feel any different from anybody else,” Williams said. “It gave me a chance to compete. I realized I could be good at track my freshman year when I was jumping with the older girls. I knew I was capable of so much more.”
Williams won seven individual state championships as a Bulldog, claiming two titles in the triple jump, long jump and 100 and one in the 200. She finished her career with a four-gold senior season that also doubled in helping Auburn to the 2013 Class B state championship.
“I won four golds that year, but the other girls stepped up,” Williams said. “We pulled it together, and it was one of the most amazing feelings.”
Williams won 13 track and field medals during her time at Auburn, claiming the seven state championships, one state runner-up medal, two third-place finishes and one fifth, sixth and seventh-place medal. One of those stands out above the rest, according to the former Auburn star.
“Probably my senior year in the 200,” she said. “The pool was so talented, and the girls were so talented. I was extremely nervous, and I was so tired because I had done the long jump, triple jump and 100, and it was extremely hot. I was thinking, how am I going to get through this race? It was my last high school race ever, but it was also just the fact I was able to do it, I set a PR and was extremely proud.”
From Auburn, Williams went on to a tremendous career at the University of Nebraska. She won multiple Big Ten Conference championships in both the long jump and triple jump and earned First Team All-American honors in both events, among many other achievements and accolades.
“Every single day you stepped on a track and field, you were competing,” Williams said of her time at Nebraska. “My teammates were always encouraging and aiming to make each other better. There was not a day where we were not making each other better. It was just a blessing.”
Williams is the first Auburn and KMAland Nebraska athlete to be honored in the KMA Sports Hall of Fame. She and the rest of the 2022 KMA Sports Hall of Fame class will officially be inducted Saturday, October 22nd in Shenandoah at the Gladys Wirsig-Jones Auditorium. Check out the complete interview with Williams below.
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