County hails Olympian, Norland basketball team

The county also commended the Miami Norland High School Boys 6A Basketball Team on winning the State Championship for three consecutive years.

The recognition came Tuesday, which was declared Lauryn Williams Day, in the commission chambers at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami. Commissioner Barbara Jordan presented proclamations marking Williams’ accomplishment and honoring the local basketball team.

Williams won a gold medal in track and field for the 4×100 relay during the 2012 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the two-man bobsled event during the Winter Olympics in February, both at Sochi, Russia.

Williams also won a silver medal in track and field in the 100-meter race during the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2004, she was the NCAA 100-meter champion and the following year her 4×100 meter team was named world champions. In 2006, she won a silver medal in the World Indoor 60-meter event.

Williams’ bobsled accomplishments include a gold medal in the World Cup in Igls, Austria. She was named to the U.S. national bobsled team in 2013 and finished third at the U.S. National Push Championships. She  was named to the U.S. Winter Olympics team in January.

Williams, a Pennsylvania native, graduated in 2004 from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. She recently relocated to Dallas from Miami.

Jordan also presented Norland High Athletics Director Ira Fluitt with a proclamation and handed the school’s principal Reginald Lee a check for $7,500, the money provided by an anonymous donor. 

 “I wanted to do something special for this team since they have accomplished this major feat,” said Jordan, whose district includes the school. “I personally picked up the telephone and asked this community to donate

towards their championship rings.” The community came through.