Guthrie-Gresham Generates Greatness

You’re in good company when you’re compared to Jackie Joyner.

Diane Guthrie-Gresham of George Mason knew it in 1995 when she won the NCAA Division I heptathlon title with 6527 points, breaking the collegiate record by more than 100 points from the mark set by Joyner a decade earlier. Guthrie-Gresham scored 3728 points on Day 1 and then followed it up with 2799 points on Day 2.

“She’s the best athlete in the world,” she said afterwards of Joyner. “And I’ve broken her record. That shows me I’m somewhere.”

Truth is, Guthrie-Gresham had already achieved history the year before with her first NCAA heptathlon victory. It was then that she became the first (and still only) combined-event champion in this meet to also have won an individual title in another event, having won the 1991 long jump as a freshman.

Guthrie-Gresham made additional history in that special 1995 meet with a runner-up finish in the long jump, losing by less than an inch to becoming the first (and still only) woman to finish in the top-3 in four years of competition (She didn’t compete for George Mason during the 1993 outdoor season).

“I’m kind of glad I didn’t win,” she told David Woods in a feature for Track & Field News about the long jump. “I think maybe because I didn’t win, it made me try that much harder in the heptathlon.”

DGG, as she was known then to teammates, also tied for 4th in the high jump, contributing 23 of the Patriots’ 29½ total points that placed them fifth in the team standings, the highest-ever finish for the women’s program.

Conway Raises The Bar In 1989

Hollis Conway set the bar so high in the high jump it has yet to be cleared again.

At the 1989 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Conway jumped higher than any collegian – before or since. The Southwestern Louisiana star was firmly in the pattern of breaking his own records, but this was to be the final collegiate meet for the Shreveport, Louisiana, native, who earned the Olympic silver medal the previous summer.

Conway had victory in hand and hadn’t missed a bar as he sailed over a meet-record 2.31m (7-7). He then asked the bar to be set at 2.38m (7-9¾), a near three-inch improvement on the meet record and just a notch above the 2.37m (7-9¼) American record, which he equaled earlier with his win at the NCAA Indoor Championships. It took him two tries, but he nailed it.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Conway told reporters afterwards about breaking the American record. “You set a lot of goals and once you achieve them, me, I immediately think of the next thing I want to do.”

He tried higher, twice at 2.40m (7-10½) before a final shoot-the-moon effort at a potential world record 2.44m (8-0). Although he was finally defeated, he won by four-and-a-half inches, the largest margin of victory to date in the event at this meet.

Conway finished his collegiate career not only with the still-standing outdoor collegiate record of 2.38m (7-9¾), but also the indoor best of 2.37m (7-9¼) that still survives — both for more than 30 years. Later that summer, Conway cleared 2.39m (7-10) to win the Olympic Festival and establish the current All-Dates Collegiate Best.

A neat epilogue: runner-up that day in Provo was Charles Austin of Texas State. Austin would win the event at the next NCAA outdoor meet, as well as the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Conway and Austin still own the highest clearances ever by an American at 2.40m (7-10½).

Conley Soars; Razorbacks Complete Triple Crown

Mike Conley saved his best for last.

In 1985, Conley scored 28¾ points to lead Arkansas to its first outdoor team title, which completed the vaunted “Triple Crown,” as the program also captured the cross country and indoor titles already in the academic year.

Conley’s four-day schedule was busier than he’d ever experienced. The defending NCAA outdoor champion in the long and triple jumps was also on the 4×100 relay, plus he would be adding the 200 meters at the national meet for the first time.

His busiest day was Friday with three finals. Conley somehow made them look easy by matching his own meet record in the long jump of 8.28m (27-8) and then running the third leg on the sixth-place 4×100 team (39.48). A strong turn runner, he finished that evening’s 200 coming into the straightaway with the lead, before finishing second to Houston’s Kirk Baptiste, who was the silver medalist in the event from the previous summer’s Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Conley also had a silver medal from that same Olympics — but his came from the triple jump. However, by the time Saturday’s NCAA final came, Conley felt fatigued and in round four, he lost his lead to Tennessee’s John Tillman, who went 16.94m (55-7).

A consummate competitor, Conley responded fiercely with a three-foot improvement to 17.54m (57-6½), just an inch short of the American record held by Willie Banks. Conley then bounded a wind-aided 17.72m (58-1¾) on his fifth attempt. Both of those marks remain among the top-4 under any conditions on the all-time collegiate list.

“Tillman’s jump did it,” Conley told Dave Johnson of Track & Field News. “Whether I was tired or not, I had to jump. It was like a slap in the face. It woke me up.”

Wisconsin’s Favor Goes Into The Record Book … Again

Can you name the most decorated female individual champion in NCAA Division I Track & Field history, combining the indoor and outdoor seasons? What if we told you that same woman never lost an NCAA final on the track in her illustrious career (She competed in NINE of them!)?

That would be none other than Suzy Favor of Wisconsin.

But we aren’t concerned with those four indoor titles today. Nor are we focused on the three outdoor crowns she captured as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

These particular moments happened 30 years ago when Favor recorded a series of firsts, some of which have yet to be matched in the long history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

When Favor won the 1500 in a collegiate record of 4:08.26, she became the first woman to win an event in this meet four times. Her time broke the meet record of 4:09.85 that she set as a freshman in 1987 – also a CR at the time – making her the first (and still only) woman to set multiple 1500 CRs in this meet.

Just one day earlier, Favor became the first collegiate woman to crack the two-minute barrier in the 800 during the collegiate season with a collegiate record of 1:59.11. Couple that with her victory the following day in the 1500 and she remains the only woman to complete the 800-1500 double in meet history.

Favor left a lasting impact on the collegiate record book. Her collegiate record in the 800 stood for 27 years until 2017 The Bowerman winner Raevyn Rogers bettered it by one-hundredth of a second (1:59.10 versus 1:59.11), while her all-time best in the 1500 spanned 13 years until 2003 when Lena Nilsson of UCLA lowered it to 4:07.69.

Angela Williams Stands Tall In History

No one had a bigger and more illustrious career over 100 meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships than Angela Williams of Southern California.

Williams had a rocket start that propelled her to four consecutive titles in the event from 1999 to 2002, the only such collection by a man or woman at this meet. Three others have won three 100-meter crowns in a career – but none have matched Williams’ prowess in the straight sprint.

Back in 1999, Williams burst onto the scene when she beat defending champion Debbie Ferguson of Georgia. Not only did Williams give the Women of Troy their first track title in meet history, she also became the first female freshman to win a short sprint in meet history (She would remain the youngest champion in the 100 until 2019 The Bowerman winner Sha’Carri Richardson unseated her from that perch).

Her victory in 2000, run into only the third headwind in meet history until that point, gave her the first freshman-sophomore combination in the event by anyone since Auburn’s Harvey Glance in 1976 and 1977, and her leadoff leg helped USC win the 4×100 relay title, its first for the women’s team.

In 2001, she became the event’s first female three-time winner and led the Women of Troy to their first women’s team title – made only sweeter by beating crosstown rival UCLA.

The fourth crown was a coronation on June 1, 2002, but just by the slimmest of margins (0.01) over teammate Natasha Mayers as USC joined powerhouses Florida State (1984) and LSU (1989, 1996) to finish 1-2 in the event. Thanks to that effort, the Women of Troy landed on the podium, just like the Seminoles and Tigers in each of those previous years.

“Williams was overcome with her accomplishment and was crying as she jogged to the stands to celebrate with family and friends following the race,” wrote Scott Davis in Track & Field News about Williams’ fourth consecutive victory in 2002.

“Such a big load has fallen off me now,” Williams said. “I never had to lean to win a race before.”

Carlos’ Triple Leads “Speed City” Spartans

San Jose State had such depth in its sprint corps in 1969 that coach Bud Winter coined the nickname “Speed City” for the group that included three Olympic medalists from the 1968 Mexico City Games: Lee Evans (400), Ronnie Ray Smith (4×100) and today’s subject, John Carlos (200).

It was on this day 51 years ago that Carlos, a recent transfer from East Texas State, completed the first sprint triple at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, winning the 100, 200 (220) and being a member of the 4×100 (4×110) relay team.

The 1969 NCAA meet, held in Knoxville, Tennessee, was the first held on a Tartan all-weather surface. The Spartans were familiar with the surface, as it was also installed on its home track.

On the previous day, Carlos led three SJSU athletes in the 100-yard final, winning in 9.2 seconds over defending champ Lennox Miller of Southern California. The aforementioned Ronnie Ray Smith finished third, while teammate Kirk Clayton, who was neck-and-neck for 4th place at the time, was disqualified for a lane violation. Carlos, Clayton and Ronnie Ray Smith later joined forces to post the fastest qualifier in the 440-yard relay, setting an American record of 38.8.

The final day of the meet saw lots of rain, which gave those in lane 1 extra obstacles with numerous puddles. It just so happens that SJSU somehow drew lane 1 in the 440-yard relay, but wasn’t bothered by it, winning in 39.1 with Carlos as the anchor. Then, after Evans finished second in the 440 (Stay tuned for a future moment for this race, which deserves its own article), Carlos equaled the meet record in the 220 at 20.2, matching the meet record fellow Spartan Tommy Smith established in 1967.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos became well-known for their “Black Power” salute to protest racial injustice during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics following a gold-bronze 200-meter finish. In 2005, San Jose State unveiled a large statue honoring the moment in the center of its campus.

Jesse Owens Completes The Quadruple-Double

Many star athletes have won four individual titles in their career at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, but only one has done so at the same meet: Jesse Owens.

Here’s the kicker: Owens didn’t just do it once. He did so twice in back-to-back years.

On this day in 1936, Owens duplicated his four-title performance from the previous year. And just like he did in 1935, Owens won all four on the same day.

The United Press called Owens winning the 100 meters, 200 meters, 200-yard low hurdles and the long jump “a grand slam,” and noted that he won the field event with “plenty to spare.”

In addition to those NCAA titles, Owens held world records in four events from the previous year when he had his unbelievable “Day of Days,” when he set them in a span of 45 minutes at the 1935 Big Ten Championships. But one world record was missing from Owens’ collection. That would be the 100 meters, since the NCAA only contested the 100-yard version at its meet.

That wouldn’t be the case at the 1936 NCAA Championships, as it was also an Olympic year. The NCAA held all Olympic events at their metric distances and Owens left nothing to chance.

After winning the long jump, Owens blistered the track inside Chicago’s Amos Alonzo Stagg Field to the tune of 10.2 for 100 meters. It was the first legal 10.2 the world had ever seen and no one would run faster for another 20 years. Owens then added victories in the 200 (21.3) and 220-yard low hurdles (23.1) to complete the quadruple-double.

Owens’ career, of course, became legendary after the 1936 Olympics in Berlin when he won four gold medals. He later became the first athlete to receive both the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1976) and Congressional Gold Medal (1988), the latter posthumously after his 1980 death.

“Bullet Bob” Hayes Wins Lone Shot At NCAAs

Bob Hayes might have only appeared once at the NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, but he certainly made that opportunity count 56 years ago.

Hayes, who competed for Florida A&M, toed the starting line of the 200 meters alongside seven men who had grandeur visions of taking down the World’s Fastest Man. That’s not a typo: Hayes was the only man in world history to that point to run 100 yards in 9.1 (He actually did so four times, with one mark ratified as the world record).

Fast running began in the semifinals with 20.3 wins from both Hayes and Edwin Roberts from North Carolina Central, who edged 1962 winner Harry Jerome from host Oregon. The times were wind-aided but second only under any conditions to the world record (20.2).

Hayes took immediate control of the final, running “the curve faster, probably, than it has ever been run as he went all out to open a 3-yard lead,” wrote Cordner Nelson, co-founder of Track & Field News. Despite the lead, Hayes nearly got caught as Roberts closed exceptionally well.

Hayes and Roberts were both credited with finishing times of 20.4w, but the former earned the victory by a whisker. It was the fifth time in the past six years that the final was too close to call.

“I made a mistake,” Hayes explained afterwards. “I lost two tenths looking at the wrong line. I dove at the tape and actually it wasn’t even a tape.”

Later that year, Hayes won a pair of gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, cementing his place among historians as perhaps the best sprinter ever. He tied the world record of 10.06 in his 100-meter victory and then anchored the Americans to victory in the 4×100 relay with a scintillating hand-timed split between 8.5-8.9 seconds.

His future thereafter was in football, where he starred with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys from 1965-1974 – winning a Super Bowl with them in 1971 – and then with the San Francisco 49ers in 1975. He caught 371 passes for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns and was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Hayes’ prowess in football and track & field is unmatched, as the only athlete with both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring, while he and Jim Thorpe are the only Pro Football Hall of Fame members with an Olympic gold medal.

Southern’s Milburn Clears All Hurdles In His Way

Rodney Milburn of Southern capped a legendary collegiate career 47 years ago when he won the 120-yard high hurdles title at the 1973 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in a meet-record time of 13.1.

Dominant doesn’t begin to describe Milburn’s athletic prowess from 1971 to 1973.

Over that three-year stretch, Milburn went undefeated in outdoor competition and won two NCAA outdoor titles. That’s only counting what he did at the collegiate level.

On a global level, Milburn set a world record to win the gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, one of six ratified world records in his career. The year before, Milburn was rated by Track & Field News as the World Men’s Athlete of the Year and was the only hurdler to earn that honor in the 1970s.

The hurdles on the track weren’t the only obstacles in his life, though. Milburn grew up in segregation, bursting onto the scene at a black-only high school in Opelousas, Louisiana, before attending predominantly-black Southern. The Jaguars competed nationally in the NAIA as well as the NCAA’s college division, and Milburn ended up with 12 national collegiate high hurdle titles, combining all levels indoors and out.

The 1973 NCAA meet was held for the first time in Baton Rouge at LSU, just across town from Southern. It was Milburn’s first visit to the flagship campus.

“I’m especially glad to have run so well here,” he told the press afterwards. “This is my last college race and most of the people here have seen me only on television.”

Sua’s Sweep Cements Unprecedented Legacy

Seilala Sua of UCLA became the most decorated individual female champion in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships 20 years ago, a distinction she still holds with six titles which also makes her the meet’s winningest thrower of any gender.

Known to her teammates as “Sly”, the native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, joined a powerful Bruin throwing group and did what no freshman – man or woman – had ever done by winning the discus crown in 1997. She followed with meet records as a sophomore (64.22m/210-8) and junior (64.26m/210-10) that remain as the meet’s two longest ever by more than one foot.

Armed as the meet’s first three-time women’s winner in the discus as well as defending champion in the shot, Sua embarked on history in 2000. She knew the significance.

“I was very nervous on my first throw because it’s harder coming in as the favorite,” Sua would later tell the media about the discus. “I don’t think it was pressure to win. It was pressure to get a good throw.”

It took Sua a little longer than usual to settle in, but once she did, her fourth consecutive coronation in the discus was complete. She took control of the leaderboard with her second mark of 60.22m (197-7) and later hit a meet-best 61.20m (200-9) to win by more than 13 feet.

With the discus title in hand, Sua could relax and focus on the shot. That’s where she heaved the orb 17.36m (56-11½) on the very first attempt of the event and put the competition to bed early.

To this day, Sua remains the only woman to earn this meet’s “double-double” as a thrower – back-to-back titles in a pair of events.

Oregon’s Burleson Races To Meet’s First Sub-4 Mile

Eight years after Roger Bannister proved it to be possible, period, Dyrol Burleson became the first collegian to clock a sub-4 minute mile at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Burleson, who competed for Oregon, won the NCAA mile title in 3:59.8 at Hayward Field on this day back in 1962. That was Burleson’s third consecutive 1500/mile title with a third consecutive meet record, a combined feat that hasn’t been matched in 58 years (Burleson is also one of just four men to win three straight crowns).

It was a special day for Burleson and the Men of Oregon in other ways, too. The Ducks won their first national track & field championship, while Hayward Field hosted its first of a record 16 NCAA outdoor meets. The site was also just 20 miles north of Burleson’s hometown of Cottage Grove, Oregon, and he entered as the American record holder in the event (3:57.6).

Though it would end up as the meet’s first sub-4 race it didn’t start like it, as Burly (as he was known) went to the lead and slowed the pace. He used a last lap 55.2 to win, with most of his powerful kick coming on the homestretch to overtake Bill Cornell of Southern Illinois, 3:59.8 to 4:00.5.

“No, I wasn’t surprised when (Bill) Cornell challenged me on the backstretch of the last lap,” Burleson was quoted in Track & Field News. “The pace for three laps was slow so there was bound to be fellows with something left. I just waited for someone to move and moved with him. It happened to be Cornell.”

Nebraska’s Greene Equals 100-Yard World Record

History couldn’t wait for Nebraska’s Charlie Green.

That’s why, on this day back in 1967, Greene equaled the world record in the 100 yards of 9.1 in a first-round heat at the NCAA Championships. He followed that up with a title-winning 9.2 in the final, which made him the third man in NCAA DI history to win three career national titles in the 100 yards/meters (Marquette’s Ralph Metcalfe from 1932-34 and Southern California’s Mel Patton from 1947-49 are the others).

This was back in the days when hand times were considered official, but Greene actually achieved the fastest automatically timed 100-yard performances since the meet had a Bulova phototimer in use. His heat time was recorded at 9.23 and his final in 9.21, which track historians note are the two fastest marks ever recorded at that distance.

Greene, a native of Pine Bluff, Ark., who grew up in Seattle, was also known for some memorable one-liners. He wore dark shades whether it was day or night and claimed “These aren’t sunglasses – they’re my re-entry shields.” He also used a “super-satellite” gear only when leading and challenged in a race.

It’s safe to say Greene continued his record-breaking ways in 1968. He won the “Night of Speed” 100 Meters at the AAU Championships when the world record was set or tied by 10 men over three rounds. Greene later earned the bronze medal in the 100 at the Mexico City Olympics after suffering a hamstring injury and then returned to lead the U.S. 4×100 relay team to gold and a world-record performance of 38.2.

Hubbard Makes World History At NCAAs

DeHart Hubbard of Michigan achieved the first ratified world record ever set at the NCAA Championships on this day in 1925.

The Associated Press article exhibited some of the excitement: “He smashed the world’s record with a jump of 25-10⅞, a record that experts say may stand for all time … Hubbard achieved his record breaking leap on his first jump cleared the take-off with perfect form and sent his body hurtling through space kicking his legs in scissor fashion just before his feet hit the earth.” (It was noted in the same article that Hubbard later sent his daughter a telegraph to celebrate both the record and her first birthday.)

Of course, the world record didn’t last forever (3 years), but remained at the top of the Wolverines’ all-time list until 1980 (55 years).

It was not Hubbard’s first NCAA title, though. In winning the 1923 NCAA long jump, he became the first black NCAA champion in any event, in any sport. Hubbard was unable to defend his NCAA long jump title in 1924 as the meet was canceled to not conflict with the Olympic Trials.

By the time the NCAA meet resumed in 1925, Hubbard was also the reigning Olympic long jump champion, having won the previous summer in Paris. It was a historic victory for Hubbard, as he was the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games.

All eyes were on Hubbard at the NCAA meet in 1925 and he didn’t disappoint. He won the long jump with that world-record effort and smashed the meet record in the 100 yards with a time of 9.8 seconds. Both of those victories gave him even more accolades: He was the first athlete to complete the 100-LJ double and the first two-time LJ winner.

Hubbard also won the long jump in record-setting fashion at the NCAA Championships when it pertains to margin of victory. He won by 1’8¾” in 1923 and 1’8½” in 1925, which sit No. 1 and No. 2 in meet history.

A year after finishing at Michigan, Hubbard equaled the world record in the 100 yards at 9.6, becoming the first to hold the 100 and long jump records at the same time – the only other man with such a collection is Jesse Owens.

Barringer Caps Legendary Collegiate Career

Jenny Barringer left an indelible impact on the collegiate record book.

What she did on June 12, 2009, just cemented that fact.

Exactly 11 years ago today, Barringer (now Simpson) became the first woman to win the steeplechase at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships three times. She did it in style, setting a collegiate record of 9:25.54, which lasted three years until 2012.

“It’s tough to come in and be a heavy favorite,” Barringer told Sieg Lindstrom of Track & Field News. “I just had to keep my mind right and go out there and take care of business. It felt great.”

Barringer had an incredible stretch to end the season, setting three collegiate records in three weeks. She began that assault on the record books at the Midwest Region Championships with a 9:26.20 CR in that same event. Then Barringer turned her attention to the Prefontaine Classic during the “rest” week before NCAAs and set the still-standing CR of 3:59.90 in the 1500.

When all was said and done in 2009, Barringer set collegiate records in five events, three of which still stand. Barringer remains the fastest collegiate in the indoor mile (4:25.91) as well as the outdoor 1500 (3:59.90) and outdoor 5000 (15:07.64), while her standards in the indoor 3000 (8:42.03) and steeplechase have since fallen. She also recorded the fastest all-conditions mark in collegiate history over 5000 meters (15:01.70), which came on an oversized track in Seattle, Washington.

Barringer later won The Bowerman, collegiate track & field’s highest honor, in its inaugural year.

Brazier Makes History Two Laps At A Time

Donavan Brazier of Texas A&M took one fell swoop at a pair of records on June 10, 2016.

It was on this day four years ago at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships where Brazier, then a 19-year-old freshman, turned two laps in 1:43.55 to obliterate both the collegiate record of 1:44.55 and the 50-year-old American junior record of 1:44.9h (equivalent to 1:44.3h for 800 meters). In fact, the American junior record set by Jim Ryun was a world record at the time for 880 yards and just celebrated its golden anniversary before Brazier knocked it from its perch.

Brazier almost broke Ryun’s record in the semifinals with a 1:45.07 PR that is still the fastest non-final time in meet history. The final would be much faster as Brazier came through the first lap in 50.48 – yet he was only in second to Mississippi State’s Brandon McBride. An exciting final lap duel saw Brazier take control in the final homestretch as McBride (1:44.50) also bettered the previous CR of 1:44.55.

“I just want to keep improving,” Brazier told Jon Hendershott of Track & Field News. “Try to go for 1:42 next year.”

His timing for such a fast race had to wait until 2019, when he won the World Championships gold medal in 1:42.34, taking down Johnny Gray’s 34-year-old American record in the process.

Wottle Leads Eight Men Under Four Minutes

On this day in 1973, Dave Wottle of Bowling Green led eight runners under the 4-minute barrier for the mile – just the second time such depth had occurred anywhere in the world.

Wottle was the defending champion, but he was more prominently known as the reigning Olympic 800-meter gold medalist, having won the 1972 Munich Games with a devastating kick that brought him from last to first over the final 200 meters. And just like then, he ran here with his trademark golf cap.

So while Wottle had the pedigree, many in attendance at the NCAA Championships wondered if anybody would break 4 minutes as the leader hit 3:02.6 at the bell (Wottle, himself, came through in 3:03.8). They could rest assured that Wottle would do his part as he turned on his trademark kick.

Wottle closed in 53.3 seconds to finish in 3:57.1, just 0.2 seconds ahead of runner-up Tony Waldrop of North Carolina in 3:57.3, who clocked his last lap in 52.8. That 3:57.1 by Wottle is a meet record that will likely never be broken as the event has been contested at 1500 meters outdoors since 1976. 

“Nobody wanted to set the pace in that heat,” Wottle told the press after the meet. “They thought they might kill themselves. A lot of people held back … but it doesn’t bother you on the last lap.”

Holloway’s Texas Two-Step Into The Record Book

12.98 seconds.

That’s how long it took for Grant Holloway of Florida to alter the complexion of collegiate history exactly one year ago today at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.

Before June 7, 2019, collegiate hurdlers eyed Renaldo Nehemiah’s hallowed record in the 110 Meter Hurdles of 13.00 for 40 years. That’s how long it had been since Nehemiah clocked 13.00 in 1979 as a member of the Maryland track & field team and set a world record in the process.

Nothing broke Holloway’s focus that night, though, as he scorched the track and became the first collegian to go sub-13 seconds in the event and notch his fifth top-10 mark in collegiate history.

“This was something I’ve been training for the whole season,” Holloway said after the meet. “It finally paid off after a bitter loss at the SECs (where he was defeated by rival Daniel Roberts).”

Holloway, who 40 minutes earlier carried the baton third on the collegiate-record-setting 4×100 relay team (37.97) and anchored the fourth fastest all-time collegiate effort in the 4×400 relay to close the meet (2:59.60), became the first man to win three career NCAA titles in the high hurdles since Jack Davis of Southern California from 1951 to 1953.

That wouldn’t be the last monumental victory of the year for Holloway, as he finished 2019 with a World Championships gold medal in October and took home The Bowerman, collegiate track & field’s highest honor, in December.

Cal’s Hudson Wins Epic Triple Jump With World’s Best

On this day in 1987, Sheila Hudson of California set the world best in the triple jump at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships when she bounded 13.78m (45-2½) to win the event. Hudson beat two other former holders of the world’s best in an event that wouldn’t be recognized with an official world record until 1990.

It was Hudson’s first of three national titles in this event, but this one was over arguably the best field in meet history. Flora Hyacinth of Alabama entered with the world’s best-ever outdoor performance at 13.73m (45-0½) and Wendy Brown of USC was an earlier record-setter.

A day after setting a PR to finish second in the long jump, Hudson led the triple jump through five rounds, but was passed by USC’s Yvette Bates at 13.60m (44-7½). Then, with the final effort of the entire meet, Hudson improved by nine inches to win with her 45-2½.

“I could feel the adrenaline flowing and I was hoping it would work with me. Sometimes it works against you,” Hudson told the media after the meet. “I don’t care what it takes – I’m going to use everything I have to jump as far as I can to win.”

Track. Field. Houston’s Lewis Does It All!

On this day in 1981, Carl Lewis of Houston became the first athlete since Jesse Owens to win a track event and field event at the same NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

It would end up being the rather-fitting, final collegiate performances of Lewis’s career.

First up was the long jump, which was moved indoors due to heavy rains in the Baton Rouge area. Hoping to defend his title with one jump, Lewis leapt 7.95m (26-1), which would have won by three-quarters of an inch — but wasn’t far enough for comfort. A second-round leap of 8.25m (27-0¾) was plenty enough and topped the meet record as he passed his remaining attempts to save himself for upcoming semifinal and final races in the 100.

Lewis edged Tennessee’s Jeff Phillips in the final of the 100 for a 0.01-second victory: 9.99 to 10.00. While both marks were aided with a 2.6 m/s tailwind, Lewis’ 9.99 was the first sub-10 performance in meet history and just ahead of the all-conditions collegiate best of 10.00 that he set earlier in the year. Lewis also avenged his lone loss of the season in the 100, which came to Phillips.

“It was the biggest thrill of my life,” Lewis told the media after the meet, one month before turning 20. “This was a very special race for me.”

Lewis would have many more special races and events, as he would win nine Olympic gold medals, the most by an American in track & field.

LSU’s Sowell Dominates 1989 NCAA Championships

On this day in 1989, Dawn Sowell of LSU culminated one of the most dominant performances in the history of the NCAA Outdoor Championships by winning the 100 Meters in a collegiate record of 10.78. The day before, she won the 200 Meters in a collegiate record of 22.04 after running a blistering second leg of the Tigers’ 4×100 relay team that also set a collegiate record of 42.50.

That’s three different collegiate records for Sowell in the span of two days!

Sowell’s collegiate record in the 200 lasted 28 years until 2017 when Kyra Jefferson broke it and her time in the 100 was the standard for 30 years until 2019 The Bowerman winner Sha’Carri Richardson lowered it to 10.75 last year. Oh, and that collegiate record in the 4×100 relay spent 20 years on top of the record book.

The margins of victory in which Sowell won were remarkable as well: 0.34 seconds in the 100, 0.41 seconds in the 200 and 1.53 seconds for the 4×100 relay. Both of those time differentials in the 100 and the 4×100 relay are still the largest in meet history, while the 200 has only been bettered once in the past 31 years.

Sowell helped the LSU women capture what would be their third of 11 consecutive team titles at the meet, a streak they put together from 1987 to 1997. The LSU men also won the team title that same season, making the Tigers the first institution to win both team titles in the same year, a feat they would repeat in 1990.