'I wanted to go out with a bang, and I did,' she said. 'I made all these people happy, and I guess that's good enough for me.'
No one was nearly good enough to equal Williams.
The record-breaking senior from Rochester won three more gold medals - highlighted by a thrilling anchor effort for her school's improbable first-place 400 relay team - Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
Williams followed her two record-breaking sprints in Friday's preliminary round by raising her PIAA gold-medal total to seven.
She even won some new jewelry for her teammates in the 400 relay, senior Devan Parise, and freshmen Melissa Davidson and Kyra Lassiter
'God bless Lauryn,' said Davidson, wearing the gold medal after Williams' explosive anchor-leg comeback.
All told, WPIAL athletes won 13 gold medals on Saturday - 11 individual and two relay teams.
Another WPIAL sprinter named Williams, McKeesport's Jason, won the 100-meter dash by outkicking two local rivals, Akeem Vance of Greensburg Salem and Marcus Furman of Connellsville.
Baldwin senior Ryan Sheehan (3200), Valley sophomore Mycah Clemons (100 hurdles), Thomas Jefferson senior Tyler Reed (shot put) and Woodland Hills senior Nick Spencer (long jump) won their first PIAA gold medals.
Deer Lakes senior Kerry McKinney (800) and Freeport's Bobby Woods (110 high hurdles), took first place, while Sam Bair of Shaler Area and Stephanie Madia of North Allegheny swept the Class AAA 1,600.
The Butler boys won with the 3,200-meter relay with the second-best time in the nation this spring.
| Winners |
| Here is a list of WPIAL athletes who won gold medals at the PIAA finals on Saturday: Sam Bair , Shaler Area, 1,600 run Mycah Clemons, Valley, 100 hurdles Stephanie Madia, North Allegheny, 1,600 run Kerry McKinney, Deer Lakes, 800 run Tyler Reed , Thomas Jefferson, shot put Ryan Sheehan, Baldwin, 3,200 run Nick Spencer , Woodland Hills, long jump Jason Williams, McKeesport, 100 dash Lauryn Williams, Rochester, 100 dash, 200 dash Bobby Woods, Freeport, 110 high hurdles Relay teams: The Butler boys 3,200; Rochester girls 400 |
The University of Miami (Fla.) recruit shook off an early-morning cold to win the 100- and 200-meter dashes for the third consecutive year.
She won the 100 in 11.78 seconds, breaking the record of 11.80 she set on Friday.
She won the 200 in 24.27, the second-fastest 200 in state history behind her record-setting 23.85 preliminary time on Friday.
Her 100 performance - she won by more than 10 meters - was rewarded by a standing ovation and prompted the meet announcer to say, 'Look out Marion Jones.'
No one could accuse him of hyperbole.
In between her winning sprints, Williams for the second consecutive day led a stirring anchor-leg comeback in the 400 relay.
This time, she won a gold medal.
Williams took the baton in fifth place and - as she did in Friday's preliminary race - passed everyone to hit the tape first.
Parise, Davidson and Lassiter had kept Williams within striking distance, and the senior tracked down Milton Hershey anchor Judith Agyepong, the second-fastest Class AA sprinter in the state.
'I got to 80 meters, and I didn't think I could do it,' Williams said. 'My coach from Michigan always says 'Arms.' Whenever you run out of everything else, use your arms. My arms were all I had left, and I was pumping my arms and I got there.'
The two hit the tape virtually together, and a review of the finish showed Rochester in 49.46 seconds, Hershey in 49.49.
'I knew she could do it,' Davidson said. 'But that was close.'
The dramatic comeback, which sent the fans at Seth Grove Stadium into a rising crescendo of frenzy, was the most memorable moment of the two-day, 300-school meet.
'Sometimes, some people just want it a little bit more,' Williams said.
Williams has long maintained the 400 relay is her favorite event because it involves the team concept.
The greatest individual track star in WPIAL history appeared most content in the arms of her relay partners after the gold-medal effort.
'Nothing feels better than making them feel good,' Williams said.
In fact, Williams didn't do the sport for herself when she started. Other people told her she was fast, so she ran track.
'As a freshman, I didn't really like the sport. I just did it because they said I was good at it. As a sophomore, it was all right. Junior year, I said, 'OK, I can do this.'
'Then I get a standing ovation. People would come up and wish me good luck. I never got tired of saying 'thank you' to everyone all day for the past two days.'
Jason Williams said goodbye to his opponents in the PIAA finals.
The McKeesport senior, part of the PIAA champion 4x100 relay team last year, tried a new starting technique and then pulled away from WPIAL rivals Vance and Furman in the 100-meter dash finals.
'I adjusted my (starting) blocks back,' said Williams, who finished second in the 200 later in the day. 'I never did that before, and I just tried it. My back was lifting too high, and I couldn't get a good start. ...(In the finals) I had a tremendous start. It was the best start I've ever had in my whole life.'
And the best finish, too.
