Good genes run in sprinter Williams' family

Rochester sprinter Erikka Williams hears the same question wherever she runs.

"The question is always, 'Are you really Lauryn's little sister?' " Erikka Williams said with a laugh, admitting she's heard it countless times. "And then when I say yes, everybody's eyes are on me, expecting me to be super quick."

That's life when your sister has six WPIAL gold medals — not to mention an Olympic silver medal and a world championship.

"I'm used to it," Erikka said.

The younger Williams sister could win her first gold medal Thursday when the WPIAL track and field championships are held at Baldwin, having qualified for the 100, 200 and long jump. The meet begins at 1 p.m.

"I'd really like to win them all," she said.

Erikka isn't quite ready to challenge her older sister's WPIAL championship record (12.04 in 100), but the junior has run the area's fastest reported 100 time this season (12.2 seconds), and the second-fastest 200 time (26.1) among Class AA girls.

Clairton's Paige Moody, the defending 100-meter champion, will be her toughest competition on the track.

"I think she can win," said Rochester coach Devan Parise, a good friend and former classmate of Lauryn's. Parise hosted her athletes at her house Wednesday night for a spaghetti dinner. "I think she can run sub-12 (seconds). If she runs 12.1, she could win it anyway."

Lauryn Williams lives in South Florida, but the sisters remain close. Lauryn recently signed an endorsement deal with Saucony, so she sent Erikka a new pair of white and black spikes that she'll wear today.

"They're pretty cute," Erikka said.

Lauryn Williams was a three-time PIAA champion in the 100 and 200 and holds state championship meet records in both events. She won a 100-meter silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and was world champion a year later.

But Lauryn doesn't give her little sister unsolicited coaching advice, insisting she's not good at teaching someone else how to sprint. Besides, Lauryn said, she doesn't want her little sister to always be known on the track as "Lauryn's little sister."

"Everyone says, 'Why don't you bring her here? Why don't you train her yourself?' " Lauryn Williams said. "I don't want her to ever have to hang in my shadow. If track and field is what she loves, I want her to find that on her own."

But Lauryn did use her connections to send Erikka to Los Angeles last summer for a track camp. It was there, Erikka said, that she decided to dedicate herself to running track. And ever since, her times have improved.

Three times she earned MVP honors at invitational meets.

"After my trip to California, I said, 'Yeah, this is what I want to do,' " Erikka said.

There's a nine-year age gap between the two sisters, so Erikka would have been in elementary school when Lauryn was winning her high school titles. She's heard the stories but doesn't remember much from those record-setting runs.

"I'm pretty sure I was there," Erikka said, "but I'm pretty sure I wasn't paying attention."



(pittsburghlive.com)