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.
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.
Two Laps To Glory For Everett
Mark Everett set a meet record of 1:44.70 in the 800 Meters at the 1990 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Brooks Made NCAA Shot Put History
Tia Brooks won back-to-back shot put titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships and broke the collegiate indoor record in the event in 2013.
Scott One-Upped Himself In 1978
Steve Scott of UC Irvine won the 1500-meter title at the 1978 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, one year after finishing runner-up at the same meet as an NCAA Division II athlete.
Sheffield Won An Incredible 400H Final
LaTanya Sheffield of San Diego State won the 400 Hurdles at the 1985 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with an American record and collegiate record of 54.64.
Bjorklund Led Calvary Under 6-Mile MR In 1971
For someone who never raced longer than 2 miles in high school, Garry Bjorklund took an immediate liking to even longer distances when he arrived at Minnesota.
Okagbare Mined For History In 2010
Blessing Okagbare is the only woman in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to win both the 100 Meters and long jump!
Kiss The Competition Goodbye
Balazs Kiss won four consecutive hammer throw title at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships and still holds the collegiate record in the event!
LSU’s Duncan Roared To 200 History
Kimberlyn Duncan was the only woman in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to win three consecutive 200-meter titles, doing so between 2011 and 2013.
Brookins Hurdled To All-Time Marks
Charles Brookins won back-to-back 220H titles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and clocked an all-time world best mark in 1923!
Flo Knows Winning Triple Jump Titles
Edrick Floréal won three consecutive triple jump titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships between 1988 and 1990.