Kayla Williams, track star from James Clemens High School, signed with Mississippi State University. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – Kayla Williams, a Jet track standout, will chart a course for Starkville when she enters Mississippi State University this fall.

This senior at James Clemens High School signed for track and field at MSU in December 2015. Williams holds multiple state records in class 7A, including long jump and triple jump, and is ranked nationally in several events.

“Track is definitely my favorite sport. It’s such a diverse sport with a variety of things to do. There’s something for everyone,” Williams said. She formerly played point guard in basketball for James Clemens, Liberty Middle School and Alabama Elite.

Currently, Williams is dual enrolled and in co-op work. “I’m not at the high school often but, when I return, I plan on rejoining my peers in First Priority,” she said.

Her parents Reginald and Satonya Williams both work as mechanical engineers. Kayla’s siblings are Reginald III, a freshman at Mississippi State, and Xavier, a Liberty seventh-grader.

Q & A

Q: What restaurants do you like in Madison?

A: Either Chick-fil-A or Zaxby’s.

Q: What’s your favorite food?

A: “If I’d have to pick, it would be between jambalaya, mac-n-cheese or banana pudding,” Kayla said.

Q: What are your favorite sports teams?

A: “I don’t watch a lot of sports on TV, so I can’t really claim a favorite, but I know that MSU is definitely a team that I’m going to be rooting for from now on,” she said.

Q: What’s your favorite sports memory?

A: “The first time that I jumped 18 feet. Like … that was the best day of my life. I went from 16 feet to 18 feet in a little over four months,” Kayla said. “That’s a big jump. I never thought that I would be considered one of the best.”

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: Watch Netflix. “I usually don’t have a lot of free time. I’m either studying, cleaning, training, working or at a track meet, but, when I do, relaxing is definitely the first thing that comes to mind,” Kayla said.