Arkansas’ Brown Notched All-Time 100H Mark
If you didn’t see Janeek Brown’s jaw-dropping performance coming from 100 meters away at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, then you weren’t paying attention. Or, the 10 hurdles that Brown expertly cleared over the course of that distance in 12.40 seconds to become the second-fastest performer in collegiate history obstructed your vision.
Whatever the case might be, Brown’s rise to superstardom in Austin, Texas, wasn’t a shock.
Brown improved in the 100H each time out: 12.97 (+1.3) in her opener at the Texas Relays; 12.91 (+0.5) at The Reveille Meet; 12.57 (+1.6) at the National Relay Championships; a world-leading 12.55 (+1.3) at the SEC Outdoor Championships one month before the NCAA meet.
The Razorback standout went 12.53 (+1.1) in the NCAA semifinals for another PR and the second-fastest qualifying mark in collegiate history. Only Brianna Rollins of Clemson ran faster back in 2013 when she broke the collegiate record by 0.01 seconds with her 12.47 clocking at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Brown wanted to run even faster still, just like Rollins had six years earlier. The Jamaican set her sights on Rollins’ CR of 12.39, which came in the 2013 final and resulted in the future winner of The Bowerman tying the largest margin of victory in meet history at 0.40 seconds.
A quick start begets a first-hurdle lead that Brown never relinquished. Brown continued to pour it on over the next nine barriers, and by the time she cleared the tenth, all eyes were on the clock. It read 12.40, agonizingly close to Rollins’ all-time best – 0.01 seconds shy.
Those 10 points from Brown also helped propel the Razorbacks to their second team title in program history, a seven-point victory over defending champion Southern California.
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.
Merchant, Muller Led Cal’s Field Day In 1922
Jack Merchant and Harold Muller combined for six top-5 finishes in five field events at the 1922 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
NC State’s Springs Doubles Up Distance Titles
In 1983, Betty Springs became the first woman in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to sweep the 5K/10K titles.
“Marvelous Mal” Whitfield Stars Over Two Laps
“Marvelous” Mal Whitfield won back-to-back NCAA 800-meter/880-yard titles in 1948 and 1949.
Ewen Was A True Triple Threat At NCAAs
Maggie Ewen is the only woman in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with titles in three different throwing events.
Wanamaker Wins Inaugural Decathlon Title
Rick Wanamaker of Drake won the first-ever decathlon title at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 1970!
SMU’s Connor Bounds To Triple Jump Greatness
It’s been 38 years and still no one has broken the meet record Keith Connor of SMU set in the triple jump at the 1982 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Provo, Utah.
Hail Lorenzo! Daniel Sprints To 200-Meter Records
Lorenzo Daniel of Mississippi State made four consecutive appearances in the final of the Men’s 200 Meters and set a collegiate and meet record in his last race.
Talented Twins Dominate Pole Vault Podium
Twin sisters Lexi Jacobus and Tori Hoggard finished on the same podium five times in eight seasons at the NCAA Championships and each won an outdoor title.
Blozis Was A “Giant” In The Shot
“Giant” Al Blozis won three consecutive shot put titles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships between 1940 and 1942.
Cameron Came Close To Standing Alone
Two one-hundredths of a second separated Bert Cameron of UTEP from standing alone in NCAA history.