Smith Set Records That Will Last Forever

Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships

Smith Set Records That Will Last Forever

Karin Smith of Cal Poly set javelin records that will last forever.

Back in 1982 – the first year that the NCAA sponsored women’s track & field competition – Smith won titles at both the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Provo, Utah, and the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, California, to become the first woman to win any championship at each level. She won the NCAA DII title at 58.24m (191-1) and then followed it up a week later with an effort of 63.02m (206-9) for the NCAA DI crown.

Neither meet record will ever be broken. About halfway through their 38-year existence as records – 2000 – the NCAA adopted the revised international style javelin, one intended chiefly to reduce flat throws by adjusting the implement’s center of gravity. Even combining marks with both implements, no thrower has beaten Smith’s pair of meet records (In fact, both women who hold the current meet records with the new javelin – Maggie Malone of Texas A&M at 62.19m (204-0) and Allison Updike of Azusa Pacific at 56.03m (183-10) – hit those marks in 2016).

Smith – born on a U.S. Air Force base in Germany – started off competition at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships with the record heave on her first effort. “I was really cued to get a good throw off the bat,” she told Garry Hill of Track & Field News, who noted that she was sidelined by a midseason broken hand. “You want to pace them rather than be paced.”

Leading the competition was nothing new to Smith, as she set the all-time collegiate women’s best with the old-style javelin at 64.44 (211-5) – another record that won’t be broken – the previous year.

posted: July 22, 2020
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
Reese Left Her Mark On NCAA LJ
June 12, 2008

Brittney Reese won the long jump at the 2008 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with a mark of 6.93m (22-9). Reese missed the meet record by just 1cm (½ inch).

Tupuritis Shocked The Field In 1996
May 31, 1996

Einars Tupuritis won the 800 at the 1996 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships by 0.14 seconds! Turpiritis crossed the finish line in 1:45.08.

Ellis Sent USC To A Thrilling Victory
June 9, 2018

Kendall Ellis had a remarkable come-from-behind victory in the 4×400 relay at the 2018 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships that sent Southern California to the meet title.