URI’s Black Rolled To NCAA’s 1st 10K Title
The NCAA’s first 10,000-meter race was held in 1948 at the Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis.
It was by far the longest distance in meet history – previously the longest event was the 2-mile, with the exception of a 5000 meters being held once in 1936. The race was even longer than the 4-mile that the NCAA used for its cross country championships.
However, the distance wasn’t new to Robert Black of Rhode Island – two years earlier as a freshman he won the AAU national cross country title at 10K in 1946 after serving more than three years in the Army’s Air Forces in World War II.
And just a week before the NCAA 10K race Black set the American record for the similar 6 miles in 30:28.2.
In that inaugural NCAA 10K, Black proved himself the class of the field as he easily won in 32:13.5, finishing some 300 yards ahead of runner-up Vic Twomey of Illinois (33:01.6). The race was the only final held on Friday of the two-day meet and became a regular event on the NCAA schedule in 1963.
Later in the fall of 1948, Black won the first of his two NCAA cross country crowns, both over Wisconsin’s Don Gehrmann, who was the first winner of three-straight NCAA 1500/mile titles (1948-50).
Black is remembered as one of Rhode Island’s greatest distance runners. Though he graduated from Rhode Island State (now University of Rhode Island), the track & field facility at Rhode Island College is named Robert J. “Bob” Black Track for him, following a gift to RIC from Bob’s wife Sarah in his name after his death in 1998.
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.