LSU’s Duncan Roared To 200 History
If your name wasn’t “Kimberlyn Duncan,” then you weren’t going to win the Women’s 200 Meters at the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships between 2011 and 2013.
Duncan made it a clean sweep right after the turn of the last decade, winning both the indoor and outdoor version of the 200-meter crown each and every year. To date, Duncan remains the only woman in NCAA DI history to win both titles in consecutive years – let alone three.
After winning her first national title indoors in 2011, Duncan ran with confidence outdoors and entered the NCAA meet that year as the collegiate leader at 22.39. Nothing kept Duncan from her first outdoor title, as she scorched the track in 22.24, the fastest winning time at the meet since Dawn Sowell set the 22.04 CR 22 years earlier in 1989 (To wit: Duncan also became just the second sophomore to snag the half-lap crown in meet history).
Duncan completed the sweep once again in 2012, taking the indoor crown in 22.74 and then pushing through a 2.3 meter-per-second headwind in the outdoor final to break tape in 22.86. In the previous race, the national semifinal, Duncan claimed a new low-altitude, all-time collegiate best of 22.19 – 0.05 seconds faster than she ran the previous year.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate Duncan’s junior year, as a whole. Duncan raced 65 times – combining all events indoors and outdoors – and went undefeated against collegians over 200 meters during that span. Out of the four “losses” in finals in non-200 events she had that year, the future winner of The Bowerman finished runner-up in the 100 at the NCAA meet and helped LSU to a trio of runner-up finishes in relay events elsewhere.
Duncan polished off the national championship triple-double as a senior, lowering her indoor PR to 22.58 and using a 3.5 m/s tailwind to clock a blistering 22.04 in the outdoor final to match Sowell’s all-time, all-conditions collegiate best. That also remained in a tie for the meet’s fastest winning time until Kyra Jefferson broke the collegiate record four years later with her time of 22.02.
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.
Providence’s Smith Left Field In The Dust
Kim Smith won the 5000 meters at the 2004 NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships by 36.04 seconds in 15:48.86 for the largest margin of victory in meet history.
Gatlin Doubled Up In Back-To-Back Years
Justin Gatlin completed back-to-back 100-200 doubles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships in 2001 & 2002. He went 10.08/20.11 & 10.22/20.18 in those respective years.
UTEP’s Hoglund First To Crack 70-Foot Barrier
Hans Hoglund was the first man to touch the 70-foot barrier in the SP at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. He also won by more than 4 feet with his 21.33m (70-0) heave in 1975.
LSU’s Hobbs Couldn’t Be Caught In 2018
Aleia Hobbs anchored LSU to a 4×100 relay MR of 42.25 & then doubled back to win the 100 by 0.23 seconds at the 2018 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships.
Michael Johnson Had 1990 NCAAs To Remember
All eyes were on Michael Johnson of Baylor in the 4×400-meter relay at the 1990 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Riley Completed Unprecedented Double In 2012
Andrew Riley completed the only 100-110H double in NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships history in 2012. Riley won the 100 in 10.27 & then captured the 110H crown in 13.53
Leatherwood Rolled To Back-To-Back 400 Titles
Lillie Leatherwood won back-to-back 400-meter titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships in 1986 & 1987. She set a meet record of 50.90 in that second year.
Iowa’s Jones Made Distance History
Charles “Deacon” Jones set a meet record in the 2-mile at the 1957 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with his time of 8:57.6.
Locke Doubled Up On Sprint Titles In 1926
Roland Locke entered the 1926 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships as the WR holder in the 220. He left with the meet record in that event (20.9) & also won the 100 in 9.9.
McLain Bounded To All-Conditions TJ Best
Erica McLain won the triple jump at the 2008 NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships by nearly two feet! McLain bounded to an all-conditions meet best at 14.60m (47-11).