Conley Soars; Razorbacks Complete Triple Crown
Mike Conley saved his best for last.
In 1985, Conley scored 28¾ points to lead Arkansas to its first outdoor team title, which completed the vaunted “Triple Crown,” as the program also captured the cross country and indoor titles already in the academic year.
Conley’s four-day schedule was busier than he’d ever experienced. The defending NCAA outdoor champion in the long and triple jumps was also on the 4×100 relay, plus he would be adding the 200 meters at the national meet for the first time.
His busiest day was Friday with three finals. Conley somehow made them look easy by matching his own meet record in the long jump of 8.28m (27-8) and then running the third leg on the sixth-place 4×100 team (39.48). A strong turn runner, he finished that evening’s 200 coming into the straightaway with the lead, before finishing second to Houston’s Kirk Baptiste, who was the silver medalist in the event from the previous summer’s Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Conley also had a silver medal from that same Olympics — but his came from the triple jump. However, by the time Saturday’s NCAA final came, Conley felt fatigued and in round four, he lost his lead to Tennessee’s John Tillman, who went 16.94m (55-7).
A consummate competitor, Conley responded fiercely with a three-foot improvement to 17.54m (57-6½), just an inch short of the American record held by Willie Banks. Conley then bounded a wind-aided 17.72m (58-1¾) on his fifth attempt. Both of those marks remain among the top-4 under any conditions on the all-time collegiate list.
“Tillman’s jump did it,” Conley told Dave Johnson of Track & Field News. “Whether I was tired or not, I had to jump. It was like a slap in the face. It woke me up.”
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.
Merchant, Muller Led Cal’s Field Day In 1922
Jack Merchant and Harold Muller combined for six top-5 finishes in five field events at the 1922 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
NC State’s Springs Doubles Up Distance Titles
In 1983, Betty Springs became the first woman in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to sweep the 5K/10K titles.
“Marvelous Mal” Whitfield Stars Over Two Laps
“Marvelous” Mal Whitfield won back-to-back NCAA 800-meter/880-yard titles in 1948 and 1949.
Ewen Was A True Triple Threat At NCAAs
Maggie Ewen is the only woman in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with titles in three different throwing events.
Wanamaker Wins Inaugural Decathlon Title
Rick Wanamaker of Drake won the first-ever decathlon title at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 1970!
SMU’s Connor Bounds To Triple Jump Greatness
It’s been 38 years and still no one has broken the meet record Keith Connor of SMU set in the triple jump at the 1982 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Provo, Utah.
Hail Lorenzo! Daniel Sprints To 200-Meter Records
Lorenzo Daniel of Mississippi State made four consecutive appearances in the final of the Men’s 200 Meters and set a collegiate and meet record in his last race.
Talented Twins Dominate Pole Vault Podium
Twin sisters Lexi Jacobus and Tori Hoggard finished on the same podium five times in eight seasons at the NCAA Championships and each won an outdoor title.
Blozis Was A “Giant” In The Shot
“Giant” Al Blozis won three consecutive shot put titles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships between 1940 and 1942.
Cameron Came Close To Standing Alone
Two one-hundredths of a second separated Bert Cameron of UTEP from standing alone in NCAA history.