Ellerbe, Misipeka Dominated The Hammer

Dawn Ellerbe of South Carolina was surprised to be such a center of attention at the 1996 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

It wasn’t the hammer competition that she had won with the first 200-foot efforts in collegiate history – it was the victory lap that is a tradition at Hayward Field in Eugene.

The ovation from the crowd took her breath away.

“They were screaming and my heart was pumping,” Ellerbe told Dave Kayfes of the Eugene Register-Guard, who noted that the crowd seemed to be cheering for her more than the women’s 1500-meter final going on at the same time.

Ellerbe cemented her place in history with the event’s first NCAA title in a big way. On her first effort – as the last thrower in the final flight of trials – Ellerbe grabbed the lead with a 61.32m (201-2) heave that gave her the collegiate and American records.

She wasn’t the only Gamecock throwing well in the trials – teammate Lisa Misipeka PR’d three straight times and just missed the 200-foot mark at 60.94m (199-11) to bring a major challenge for Ellerbe.

In the finals, Ellerbe took control for good, zinging the ball and chain out to 63.76m (209-1) on her first attempt and added another 200-footer on a final toss (61.92m/203-2). Misipeka didn’t improve but ended up with the six longest throws of her career at the time, finishing second.

In third was Leslie Coons of Southern California – a former Gamecock, who twice during the season had improved on Ellerbe collegiate records.

Ellerbe and Misipeka repeated their 1-2 finish in 1997 – still the only 1-2 finishes by a program in the women’s hammer – as Misipeka became the event’s second collegiate 200-footer.

With Ellerbe graduated in 1998, Misipeka improved the NCAA meet record further to 63.82m (209-4) after already raising the South Carolina school record to 65.00m (213-3) at the SEC Championships. Needless to say, Misipeka also won the NCAA title that year, giving the Gamecocks each of the first three crowns in the event.