Lash Led Indiana Dominance In NCAA’s First 5K
In 1936, Don Lash became known as “The Iron Man of Indiana.”
Befitting his nickname, Lash made winning the first 5000-meter title at the NCAA Track & Field Championships look easy.
The 5K distance was more than one mile longer than the longest race normally contested by collegians then – the 2-mile. It just so happens that Lash broke the world record in the 2-mile just one week earlier.
But Lash had already proven that the so-called “long distance” of 5K was right in his wheelhouse after having already won two AAU national cross country titles over 10,000 meters.
Lash, as expected, easily won that NCAA 5K in 14:58.5, leading an impressive 1-2-4 finish by the Hoosiers. Lash was the only runner in the field doubling back from the 1500, where he was third.
In the next two weeks, Lash would continue to show his “Iron Man” side, winning the 10K and 5K at the Olympic Trials – the 10K his track debut that broke a 12-year-old American record.
While cross country was not yet an NCAA championship sport, Indiana was strong enough in the next fall to score a perfect 15 points, going 1-2-3-4-5 at the AAU national championships. It was Lash’s third-consecutive individual title. Lash would eventually win seven straight, a record that stood until 1989 when Pat Porter won eight in a row.
Lash’s senior track season of 1937 was also strong. He anchored the Hoosiers to a world record 4xmile relay at the Penn Relays and won a third-straight Big Ten outdoor mile/2-mile double. In his final race for IU, he scared the world mile record, running 4:07.2 when the WR was 4:06.8.
Lash followed his running career with stints as a state trooper, FBI agent and five-term legislator in the Indiana House of Representatives.
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.
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