UCLA’s Johnson Set MRs In Back-To-Back Years

Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships

UCLA’s Johnson Set MRs In Back-To-Back Years

A major showdown was on stage for the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the 2004 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

For the first – and still only – time in meet history, two former champions were set to face off in the event, and the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin seemed like good neutral ground as each hailed from opposite coasts.

2002 winner Lashinda Demus, a South Carolina senior from California, was back after missing the 2003 season and came in with a 54.50 PR that made her No. 3 on the all-time collegiate list.

Sheena Johnson, a UCLA senior from Virginia, owned the season’s best time of 54.32, which was just shy of the 54.24 collegiate record she set in winning the 2003 NCAA meet.

Demus lined up in lane 4 and Johnson in lane 6, the two separated by yet a third undefeated hurdler in Raasin McIntosh of Texas. McIntosh, NCAA runner-up to Johnson in 2003, owned a PR of 54.60 and came in having run 55.39 in the heats, then the fastest prelim in meet history.

The race lived up to potential as those top three charged into a headwind down the backstretch, with Johnson clearly controlling the lead by the fifth hurdle and Demus beginning to pull away from McIntosh for second place.

There was no catching Johnson, who stormed home to a huge CR of 53.54. At 54.22, Demus was also under the old CR, making the race the only women’s 400 hurdles in meet history with two running better than the existing CR.

McIntosh was caught for third by Wyoming’s Shauna Smith, who would become the meet’s 2005 champion. No other women’s hurdles race has had three past or future NCAA champions.

posted: March 28, 2021
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
Reese Left Her Mark On NCAA LJ
June 12, 2008

Brittney Reese won the long jump at the 2008 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with a mark of 6.93m (22-9). Reese missed the meet record by just 1cm (½ inch).

Tupuritis Shocked The Field In 1996
May 31, 1996

Einars Tupuritis won the 800 at the 1996 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships by 0.14 seconds! Turpiritis crossed the finish line in 1:45.08.

Ellis Sent USC To A Thrilling Victory
June 9, 2018

Kendall Ellis had a remarkable come-from-behind victory in the 4×400 relay at the 2018 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships that sent Southern California to the meet title.