2006 USA Indoor Champs runner-up; 2004 NCAA Indoor mile and outdoor 1,500 champion; 2003 NCAA Outdoor 1,500m champion; 2003 NCAA Indoor Tiffany McWilliams seemed to come out of nowhere when she won her first mile race of 2003 in 4:39.73 at Mississippi State, breaking the MSU school record by more than 10 seconds. However by the end of the indoor season, she had won her first SEC title in a PR 4:35.21 and finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2004 she won her first two races by huge margins, setting two more school records: 4:18.52 in the 1,500m and 2:05.78 in the 800m. McWilliams was an all-around athlete in high school, participating in track, cross country, basketball, tennis, softball and cheerleading at Red Bay (Alabama) High School. She won state titles in cross country, track and basketball. She was named the Alabama State Basketball Player of the Year her senior season and led her team to a 2A State title.