Back-To-Back 200-Meter Crowns For Annelus

Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships

Back-To-Back 200-Meter Crowns For Annelus

Anglerne “Angie” Annelus was a surprise winner in the 200 meters at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. 

Annelus entered the meet ranked 13th nationally in the event with a 22.64 PR that she ran just a few weeks earlier in the prelims of the Pac-12 Championships. She ended up finishing third in that final behind Makenzie Dunmore of Oregon and teammate Deanna Hill (To wit: Hill would join Annelus in the NCAA final; Dumore only contested the 400 that year). 

Running into a 2.3 m/s headwind during the 2018 NCAA final at Hayward Field, Annelus beat NCAA Indoor champ and collegiate indoor record holder Gabby Thomas of Harvard to the finish line by 0.10 seconds: 22.76 to 22.86. Annelus was the first sophomore to win the crown since Kimberlyn Duncan of LSU seven years earlier (That would be the first of three consecutive titles for Duncan). 

READ MORE: LSU’s Duncan Roared To 200-Meter History

Fast forward one year later and Annelus once again walked into the NCAA Outdoor Championships as the underdog, despite being the defending champion. Annelus was ranked in a tie for seventh on the Descending Order List at 22.71 and had a sour taste to rinse out of her mouth after not making it out of the prelims at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Annelus didn’t let any of that faze her as she ripped across the track in the final at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. She wasn’t alone, though: LSU freshman star Sha’Carri Richardson was right with her every step of the way. 

It came down to a photo finish as Annelus out-leaned Richardson at the tape for a 0.01-second victory: 22.16 to 22.17. For Annelus, she became the fifth-fastest woman in collegiate history and just the fourth woman in meet history to repeat as 200-meter champion. Richardson settled for the sixth fastest mark in collegiate history and eventually won The Bowerman, large in part to setting the collegiate record in the 100 meters earlier.

Annelus, who is back this year as a redshirt senior, could make it three in a row – something that only one other woman has done in meet history (The aforementioned Duncan).

posted: January 10, 2021
1921-2021
The NCAA's First Championships

The NCAA and collegiate track & field will mark a momentous milestone in the spring of 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of the NCAA Championships and with that, the NCAA Track & Field Championships. In June 1921, the University of Chicago hosted the first track & field championships in NCAA history.

This point can’t be emphasized enough: Not only was the event the first for NCAA track & field, but the first championships for any sport under the sponsorship of the NCAA.

To celebrate, over each of the next 365 days, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) will celebrate moments, student-athletes, and coaches that have made a century’s worth of championships special. From humble beginnings to important historical milestones to the modern-day, collegiate track & field has evolved with the American society.

The 2021 edition of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships begin with preliminary round action on May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla., and College Station, Texas. The championships final site and culmination of the celebration is slated for June 9-12, 2021 at the newly rebuilt Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Memorable Moments
O-H-I- Oh, Reynolds Was Fast!
June 6, 1987

Butch Reynolds set a meet record in the 400 of 44.13 at the 1987 NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships. He barely missed his own collegiate record of 44.10.

Fynes Won NCAA Titles For Two Programs

Sevatheda Fynes won three career titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. What’s even more impressive is that she did it for two programs – Eastern Michigan & Michigan State.

El Moutawakel Had Legendary Year In 1984

Nawal El Moutawakel set a meet record in the 400 hurdles of 55.84 at the 1984 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also won Olympic gold that year in the event.

Florida State’s England Kicked To 1500 CR
June 15, 2008

Hannah England set a collegiate record in the 1500 of 4:06.19 at the 2008 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships & led two other women under 4:08 in one of the meet’s fastest finals.