Walton Started It All In The 800
Fast times were not likely in the women’s 800-meter final at the 1982 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Provo, Utah.
Cold, driving rain met the finalists for the inaugural championship race that featured two stars coming back from Friday victories – Oregon’s Leann Warren, who had won the 1500 meters, and Delisa Walton, who had anchored Tennessee’s collegiate record-setting 4×400 relay team with a 51.0 split.
Walton normally raced from the front, but the conditions forced her to tuck in behind others in an effort to seek shelter from the wind, and Warren followed suit. After a first lap of 61.9 by Tennessee’s Joetta Clark, Walton and Warren followed closely on the backstretch of the second lap.
When Walton made her move with 200 to go, Warren was boxed in by Stanford’s Regina Jacobs and just missed catching Clark as the Volunteer duo went 1-2 with Walton winning in 2:05.22.
“Whoever led, I was going to stay behind, and especially when it rained,” Walton explained. “I wasn’t going to take the lead because I couldn’t see.”
Less than a month later, Walton married Houston’s Stanley Floyd, who had won the NCAA 100 meters for the second time (his first came in 1980, when he was at Auburn). In 1983, Walton won the 600 yards and anchored UT’s 4×400 team at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In April she ended her senior season when she learned she was pregnant.
The couple’s first child, Ebonie, was born in October and forged an impressive career of her own, nearly joining mom and dad as an NCAA champ in 2007 when she finished second for Houston in the 100 – the closest a mom and daughter have come to being individual champions in the NCAA DI Outdoor 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.
Texas’ Hooker High Jumped To NCAA Glory
Destinee Hooker won three career high jump titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships, including a massive victory in 2009 by more than two inches.
De Grasse Sprinted To Otherworldly Double
Andre De Grasse completed the 100-200 double at the 2015 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with scorching times: 9.75 (+2.7) in the 100; 19.58 (+2.4) in the 200.
Merritt Broke Long-Standing 110H MR In 2006
Aries Merritt broke a 28-year-old meet record in the 110H when he won the crown at the 2006 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships in 13.21.
UGA’s Torrence Made NCAA History With Double
Gwen Torrence completed the 100-200 double at the 1987 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. Torrence was also the first woman to finish top-8 four times in the 100.
Bayer Gave It His All For NCAA 1500 Title
Andrew Bayer won the 1500 at the 2012 NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships in one of the closest finishes in meet history – 0.01 seconds.
Tipton Led 1-2-3 Oregon Finish In 1964 JT
Les Tipton led the first podium sweep of any event in the history of the NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships. Tipton and his Oregon teammates went 1-2-3 in the 1964 javelin.
K-State’s Jones Captured Heptathlon Crown In 2015
Akela Jones won the heptathlon at the 2015 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with 6371 points. That is the fourth-best score in both collegiate history & meet history.
Same Athletes, Same Result For LSU At NCAAs
The LSU foursome of Bennie Brazell, Pete Coley, Robert Parham, Kelly Willie swept the 4×100 & 4×400 crowns at the 2003 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships.
Martin Won Distance Titles For Two Programs
Francis (Frank) Martin made history twice in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
FSU’s Williams Soared To Jumps Double In 2009
Kim Williams swept the horizontal jumps at the 2009 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. Williams was particularly dominant in the TJ, winning at 14.38m (47-2¼) & by nearly 2 feet.