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.
Gerber Graduated To Elite Company
Farley Gerber of Weber State turned the steeplechase at the 1984 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships into an ultimate game of “Catch Me If You Can.”
Jenkins Set Low-Altitude Meet Best In 1999
LaTasha Jenkins of Ball State set a low-altitude meet best of 22.29 in the 200 meters at the 1999 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships!
Rice Cooked On The Course & Track
Greg Rice, winner of the first NCAA cross country title OTD in 1938, also won two career crowns at the outdoor championships, both in the 2 mile.
Prandini Dazzled At NCAAs In 2015
2015 The Bowerman winner Jenna Prandini scored 26 points at the NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships that year, winning the 100 and finishing runner-up in the 200 and long jump.
Devers Reached Legendary Status In 1988
Gail Devers scored 28½ points at the 1988 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships: 100 (1st, 10.86w), 4×400 (1st, 51.4 split), LJ (2nd, 6.55m | 21-6), 4×100 (2nd), 100H (3rd, 12.90).
Hall Equaled 120H World Record In 1969
Erv Hall won the NCAA title in the 120 Yard Hurdles at the 1969 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships, one day after setting the world record of 13.2 in the prelims.
Tulloch Shook Nerves, Dominated Javelin
Valerie Tulloch became the first woman in NCAA DI history to win three javelin titles, doing so in 1992 and then back-to-back in 1994 & 1995.
Seagren Vaulted Into The Record Book
Bob Seagren won two career pole vault titles at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He set meet records with victories in 1967 (5.28m/17-4) and 1969 (5.35m/17-7).
Gophers’ Gordien Golden With The Disc
Fortune Gordien finished runner-up in the discus at the 1943 NCAA Championships, spent two years in the Navy during World War II and then won three consecutive titles between 1946 and 1948.
Price Was Right In The Hammer
DeAnna Price won back-to-back hammer throw titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2015 and 2016.