Junior criminal justice major, Amber Williams broke the pentathlon school record in track and field. The event took place at the Wartburg Indoor Select track meet in Waverly, Iowa, on Feb. 5, 2016.

This was Williams’ first multi event she has competed in. She won the pentathlon with a total of 3,348 points, making her 123 points ahead of the second place competitor.

The pentathlon consisted of five different events: 60 meter hurdles, 800 meter run, high jump, long jump, and shot put.

Williams already had experience with the hurdles, long jump and high jump. She said she wanted to compete in the event to try it out because she had never done it before.

Going into the pentathlon, Williams said her only fears were “dying in the 800 meter run and throwing her shoulder out in the shot put.” With overcoming those fears, she was able to succeed in both events.

Head track and field coach, Chris Rotzenberg said Williams loves a challenge and is always willing to try new things. Rotzenberg said she picks things up very quickly and is very versatile.

Teammates Megan Marotz, Megan Rouer and Krysta Parson also competed in the pentathlon. This was Marotz’s first multi event. She said it was a lot to do in one day and there was not a lot of time to rest in between events which made it challenging. This was Rouer’s second multi event, so she already had an idea of what to expect.

Going into the meet, both Marotz and Rouer said they knew Williams would win certain events and score a lot of points. When Williams broke the record, neither one of them was shocked.

“She’s so good at the events especially the long jump and hurdles,” junior criminal justice major, Rouer said. “I expected she would win.”

“It was an interesting situation because she [Williams] does so well in the events. We expected her to break the record so it wasn’t a surprise when she did,” Marotz, junior mechanical engineering and business administration major said.

This is Williams’ sixth school record she has broken. Amongst this new record, she holds the school records for outdoor and indoor long jump, outdoor and indoor triple jump and outdoor 200-meter dash.

“It’s cool to have my name up on the wall [in the Williams Fieldhouse]. If no one ever breaks the record, my name could be up there forever,” Williams said.

When discussing Williams’ place on the team, Rotzenberg said “ [she is] easily the biggest point scorer.” He said she is an invaluable asset to the team and an amazing athlete in general and has a natural ability with her athleticism.

Williams has set a goal to become the Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year. She has already been named All-American for both long jump and triple jump.

Rotzenberg said he would like to help Williams gain the National title in the long jump and triple jump in the future.

[email protected]