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.
Texas’ Hooker High Jumped To NCAA Glory
Destinee Hooker won three career high jump titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships, including a massive victory in 2009 by more than two inches.
De Grasse Sprinted To Otherworldly Double
Andre De Grasse completed the 100-200 double at the 2015 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with scorching times: 9.75 (+2.7) in the 100; 19.58 (+2.4) in the 200.
Merritt Broke Long-Standing 110H MR In 2006
Aries Merritt broke a 28-year-old meet record in the 110H when he won the crown at the 2006 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships in 13.21.
UGA’s Torrence Made NCAA History With Double
Gwen Torrence completed the 100-200 double at the 1987 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. Torrence was also the first woman to finish top-8 four times in the 100.
Bayer Gave It His All For NCAA 1500 Title
Andrew Bayer won the 1500 at the 2012 NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships in one of the closest finishes in meet history – 0.01 seconds.
Tipton Led 1-2-3 Oregon Finish In 1964 JT
Les Tipton led the first podium sweep of any event in the history of the NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships. Tipton and his Oregon teammates went 1-2-3 in the 1964 javelin.
K-State’s Jones Captured Heptathlon Crown In 2015
Akela Jones won the heptathlon at the 2015 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with 6371 points. That is the fourth-best score in both collegiate history & meet history.
Same Athletes, Same Result For LSU At NCAAs
The LSU foursome of Bennie Brazell, Pete Coley, Robert Parham, Kelly Willie swept the 4×100 & 4×400 crowns at the 2003 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships.
Martin Won Distance Titles For Two Programs
Francis (Frank) Martin made history twice in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
FSU’s Williams Soared To Jumps Double In 2009
Kim Williams swept the horizontal jumps at the 2009 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. Williams was particularly dominant in the TJ, winning at 14.38m (47-2¼) & by nearly 2 feet.