Watkins Flew To All-Conditions Meet Best

Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships

Watkins Flew To All-Conditions Meet Best

June 7, 2007

Rhonda Watkins of UCLA led qualifying at the 2007 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Sacramento.

She had already learned the hard way that means nothing when the finals begin, after having been in the same position the year before and eventually finished 11th.

Watkins made sure that didn’t happen again in 2007.

The Bruin standout leapt all the way out to 6.96m (22-10) in Round 3, merely the longest ever seen in the meet.

The wind reading of 2.5 meters per second on Watkins’ jump was over the allowable limit for record purposes (2.0), but her effort remains the farthest in meet history. The next longest jump is the meet record of 6.94m (22-9¼) by Sheila Echols of LSU in 1987 – also the oldest MR of any women’s event.

Watkins followed her victory at the 2007 NCAA meet with another pair of efforts that continued her roller-coaster ride: She didn’t record a mark in 2008; then in 2009, was just 0.01m (¼”) from winning but finished fourth in what was an incredible competition that will be the subject of a forthcoming story.

posted: December 9, 2020
1921-2021
The NCAA's First Championships

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.

Memorable Moments
O-H-I- Oh, Reynolds Was Fast!
June 6, 1987

Butch Reynolds set a meet record in the 400 of 44.13 at the 1987 NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships. He barely missed his own collegiate record of 44.10.

Fynes Won NCAA Titles For Two Programs

Sevatheda Fynes won three career titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. What’s even more impressive is that she did it for two programs – Eastern Michigan & Michigan State.

El Moutawakel Had Legendary Year In 1984

Nawal El Moutawakel set a meet record in the 400 hurdles of 55.84 at the 1984 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also won Olympic gold that year in the event.

Florida State’s England Kicked To 1500 CR
June 15, 2008

Hannah England set a collegiate record in the 1500 of 4:06.19 at the 2008 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships & led two other women under 4:08 in one of the meet’s fastest finals.