LSU Hurdle Dominance Yet To Be Matched
In 1989, the LSU women’s program was early in its record 11-year run of team titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, but its hurdling group was building a legacy that has yet to be matched.
Tananjalyn Stanley led a 1-2 LSU finish in the 100-meter hurdles at the 1989 NCAA Championships, topping an event dominance that only LSU itself has matched or exceeded.
Stanley – her first name is pronounced “tuh-NAN-juh-lynn” – clocked a meet-record 12.70 to win by 0.25 seconds over freshman teammate Cinnamon Sheffield, whose 12.95 made LSU the first school with two sub-13 hurdlers in the same race.
Stanley had shown her talent earlier in the year, winning the NCAA Indoor 55-meter hurdle title in a collegiate record 7.47 and by 0.22 seconds – still the largest margin by a female hurdler at any indoor NCAA distance.
The hurdle group at LSU showed even more dominance in 1990, placing four in the event’s NCAA final for the only time in meet history. Though a repeat victory eluded the Lady Tigers – Arizona State’s Lynda Tolbert won – Sheffield and Stanley (now recovering from knee surgery) led a 2-3-6-7 finish for 19 points, one more than LSU’s 1989 total of 18 in the event.
A year later, LSU would increase its event total in the NCAA meet to 22, thanks to the newest members of the scoring crew in Dawn Bowles and Mary Cobb.
Then in 1991, Bowles led yet another 1-2 LSU finish – the only other in the event besides LSU’s in 1989 – but this time it was actually a 1-2-5 finish as Bowles won in a wind-aided 12.70, matching Stanley’s MR. Cobb – who had won the NCAA Indoor hurdles in March – followed in 12.97, with Sheffield again scoring as the group amassed a 22-point total that remains the highest of any hurdle group in meet history – men or women.
At this point in history, LSU claimed the most sub-13 hurdlers – three with legal wind and four under all conditions at a time when no other program had more than two in either category.
No program ever matched any of the NCAA women’s 100-meter hurdle point totals LSU amassed in 1989-91.
Bowles and Sheffield scored again in 1992 (2-4) as each contributed to additional LSU legacies – part of a winning NCAA team, and each as a member of a winning 4 x 100 squad.
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.