Allen Sealed Oregon’s Title With 110H MR

Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships

Allen Sealed Oregon’s Title With 110H MR

June 14, 2014

When Devon Allen stepped on the track for the final of the 110-meter hurdles at the 2014 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Men of Oregon needed just one point from him to clinch their first outdoor team title since 1984. 

Allen, who entered the meet ranked seventh on the seasonal Descending Order List, qualified with the third-fastest time of the semifinals, so the Ducks were in prime position, as long as the freshman made it to the finish line in one piece.

“The gun goes off,” Oregon head coach Robert Johnson told the media after the meet, “and I say to myself, ‘Just get through the hurdles. It doesn’t matter – just get through the hurdles. With one more point, I don’t care what they (the eventual runner-up Florida Gators) do. 

“Then he passes me,” Johnson continued. “I’m sitting at hurdle six. He’s probably in third. Then I look at the monitor and he’s in second and then he runs off that last hurdle better than most.”

Well, the Ducks only needed one point, but Allen ended up giving the hosts 10 with a victory and himself immortality with a new meet record of 13.16. Allen also became just the third freshman to win a high-hurdle crown in meet history, joining George Walker of Illinois in 1945 and Dedy Cooper of San Jose State in 1976. 

A torn ACL, suffered during the football season, kept Allen off the track – and from defending his title – in 2015, but he returned better than ever in 2016 and reclaimed his throne with a 13.50 winner into a 0.9 m/s headwind.

posted: April 3, 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
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!