Kiss The Competition Goodbye

Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships

Kiss The Competition Goodbye

Balazs Kiss of Southern California didn’t waste any time in becoming just the fourth man to win an event at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in four straight years.

Kiss – whose full name is pronounced “BOWL-osh Keesh” – opened up the 1996 NCAA meet with a hammer throw of 80.86m (265-3), a meet record that gave him a victory by 11.04m (36-2) – the largest winning margin for any event in meet history.

His NCAA hammer meet record, which still stands, has only been bettered once by a collegian – by Kiss himself in 1995 at 81.94m (268-10). In fact, no collegian has come within 10 feet of Kiss’s best, and he owns the eight longest collegiate hammer throws all-time and the six longest in NCAA meet history.

After Kiss’ collegiate record in 1995, Trojan throwing coach Dan Lange noted how special Kiss was: “He doesn’t have any weaknesses,” he told Jim Dunaway for Track & Field News. “He’s big, strong, extremely athletic and he has an incredible work ethic. He has a great attitude and is extremely strong mentally.”

At the time, Lange was looking to Kiss’ summer of 1995 – “I don’t see why he can’t win a medal at the Worlds” – but in finishing fourth there his debut on a major global podium would have to wait until the 1996 Olympics, despite extending the all-dates collegiate best that summer to 82.56m (270-10).

At the Atlanta Games, Kiss showed his major-meet mettle, throwing over 260-feet (79.24m) four times with his best a gold medal-winning effort of 81.24m (266-6).

As dominant a collegiate thrower as Kiss was, he survived a scare as a sophomore in 1994, when he battled a hip injury. With two fouls at the NCAA Championships he advanced to the final with a safety effort – at least for him – of 68.82m (225-9). He then climbed out of sixth place to eventually win at 74.84m (245-6). His winning margin that year – just 2.42m (7-11) – was the only one of his NCAA victories less than 10-feet.

posted: October 8, 2020
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
Tough Keeping Up With This Jones

Jolanda Jones won three heptathlon titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships and scored more than 6000 points twice.

Peters At Head Of Jav U’s Class

Anderson Peters won back-to-back javelin titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships and broke and bettered the meet record twice.

Fitzgerald Hurdled Into The Record Books
June 4, 1983

Benita Fitzgerald won back-to-back 100H titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 1982 & 1983, setting a collegiate record and meet record with her time of 12.84 in 1983.

An Illustrious Career For Charlie Craig

Charlie Craig won the triple jump at the 1964 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Then, after a long coaching career, he was inducted into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame!