Micah Williams leads the way, Fahnbulleh's epic comeback: 100m report

EUGENE, Oregon —— Micah Williams of Oregon clocked the fastest time in the semi-final heats of the men's 100m on Day 1 at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on Wednesday (8). There was also an impressive run from Florida's Joseph Fahnbulleh, who recovered from a disastrous start to power his way into Friday's final as well.

Running from the mid lane in what was a star-studded first semi-final, Williams rocketed from the blocks in his usual fashion to grab the early advantage over the rest of the field before crossing the finish line in 10.01 seconds (-0.6 m/s) running in a slight headwind. Read more: Day 1 order of events at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, how to watch live?

Olympian Fahnbulleh received a massive cheer from the crowd at the end of the heat after the Florida standout remarkably crawled his way back from a horrible start when blowing past everyone but Williams to secure second place in 10.11 seconds, which is the third-fastest overall.

Among the athletes Fahnbulleh chased down and blew past today was Matthew Boling of Georgia who managed to hold on for a third-place finish to sneak his way into the final on time with 10.18 secs.

READ MORE: Houston runs 38.66 to lead 4x100m qualifiers at NCAA Outdoor Championships: Day 1

Jo'Vaughn Martin of Florida State who won the second semi-final heat, posted the second-quickest time overall with 10.10 seconds (+1.2 m/s). Florida senior Dedrick Vanover grabbed second place in the heat with a time of 10.15 secs, the same time as third place Shaun Maswanganyi, who earlier anchored Houston to the quickest time during the 4x100m relay semis.

Freshman Favour Ashe of Tennessee used a very fast start to build a solid lead over his challengers and then cruised home in a time of 10.15 seconds to take the third semi-final.

North Carolina A&T sophomore Javonte Harding held on for second place with 10.23 seconds in a close finish at the end.

Meanwhile, several of the nation's leading sprinters heading into the championships failed to make the final.

Leading the way was Texas and Big star Micaiah Harris who was 23rd overall with a shocking time of 10.44 secs. Udodi Onwuzurike of Stanford who was seen as a possible medal challenger after his recent performances also failed to advance, as well as Ismael Kone of New Orleans, Edward Sumler IV of Houston, and Isaiah Cunningham of Baylor.

The final of the men's 100m dash will take place on Friday's third day at the 2022 NCAA Championships.