Makusha Made History In Bowerman Year Of 2011
DeHart Hubbard.
Jesse Owens. Twice.
Carl Lewis.
From 1921 until 2011, there were only three men in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships who won individual titles in both the 100 meters and long jump.
Ngoni Makusha joined that legendary fraternity 10 years ago in record fashion.
Makusha, already a two-time champion in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships from 2008 and 2009, started things off with an 8.40m (27-6¾) winner in Round 4 of a weather-delayed competition. Thunderstorms pushed the conclusion of the proceedings back to Friday, but Makusha wrapped things up on Thursday with that aforementioned effort that sent him from fifth to first and notched the best wind-legal winning mark since Erick Walder in 1993.
With this third long jump crown in hand – and one of only three men in meet history to amass such a haul (Edward Gordon of Iowa and the aforementioned Walder were the others) – the Florida State standout took one more attempt on Friday and passed on his final try in order to save his legs for the upcoming final of the 100.
Makusha was a bit of an unknown in the open 100, despite starring on the Seminoles’ 4×100 relay over the years. The Zimbabwean hadn’t competed in an open 100 since 2007 before that year, but proved game as he won the ACC title in a meet-record 9.97 – shaving 0.20 seconds off the all-time best – and qualified third out of the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
A slow start wasn’t a reason for concern for Makusha in the 100. He opened it up after 50 meters and cruised to the finish line in a collegiate-record 9.89 that took 0.03 seconds off the previous standard established by Ato Boldon at the 1996 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
As if Makusha needed to add anything more to his legacy, he returned to the track on Saturday to help Florida State win the 4×100 relay with a scintillating second leg.
Six month later, Makusha captured The Bowerman as collegiate track & field’s most outstanding male athlete. Like there was another other choice that year.
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.
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Paige Turned Three NCAA Mid-Distance Titles
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