Jenkins Set Low-Altitude Meet Best In 1999
LaTasha Jenkins of Ball State ran the 200 meters at the 1999 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Boise, Idaho, much the way she might have written one of her short stories – with a great ending.
Jenkins was a senior English major with a penchant for fiction, but her final race for the Cardinals didn’t exactly start off as a masterpiece.
“She had the world’s worst start,” Ball State coach Kelly Lycan told the Star Press of hometown Muncie, Indiana.
Jenkins threw in a major twist on the homestretch when she caught defending champion Debbie Ferguson of Georgia near the midpoint and stormed home to a solid victory in 22.29, becoming the first women’s NCAA champion for Ball State in any sport.
Her time was a stunner, too, matching Nebraska’s Merlene Ottey from 1982 and behind only Dawn Sowell of LSU (22.04 in 1989) on the all-time list.
It wasn’t just that she won the NCAA title, Lycan explained to David Woods for Track & Field News. “It was more the way she did it. She made the crowd go ‘oooh’.”
“I’m not that surprised,” said Jenkins. “I think I was just happy and relieved that I was capable of doing it. Just showing the world that small schools are just as fast.”
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.
Thomas Gives NCAA Meet First 7-Footer
John Thomas of Boston University was the first athlete to clear 7 feet in the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Lindgren Had No Peer In NCAA
Gerry Lindgren of Washington State swept the 3-mile/5K & 6-mile/10K at the NCAA Outdoor Championships three consecutive times between 1966 and 1968.
UCLA’s Acuff Ascends To Record Heights
Amy Acuff of UCLA set a still-standing meet record in the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 1995.
“Invincible” Randy Matson Dominates The Throws
Randy Matson of Texas A&M set multiple world records in the shot put and dominated that event and the discus in the collegiate scene.
Texas’ Reid Unrivaled At 400 Meters
Suziann Reid of Texas is the only athlete in NCAA history – regardless of division – with three 400-meter crowns and four 4×400 relay titles.
For The Helds, The Javelin Is A Family Affair
Bud Held of Stanford is one of only two men in NCAA DI history to win three consecutive javelin titles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The 440-220 Double Is So Nice, McKenley Did It Twice
Herb McKenley of Illinois completed the difficult 440-220 double twice at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Davis Rolls To Collegiate Record In 1989
Pauline Davis of Alabama set a collegiate record of 50.18 in the 400 Meters at the 1989 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Dillard Hurdles To NCAA, World Glory
Harrison Dillard won the 120-yard and 220-yard hurdles in back-to-back years in 1946 and 1947.
Simpson Sprints To All-Time Mark In 1929
In 1929, George Simpson of Ohio State was so far ahead of his time that he set a world record in the 100 yards that couldn’t be ratified.