Willard headed into Thursday 's final .
Willard sat as the third seed behind Barringer 's new NCAA record of 9 : 29 and Lisa Galaviz 's former American record of 9 : 28 .
Heading into Thursday 's final , Willard sat as the third seed behind Barringer 's new NCAA record of 9 : 29 and Lisa Galaviz 's former American record of 9 : 28 .