SMU’s Dean Starred In The Javelin At NCAAs

No one could know the history Windy Dean of SMU whirled up at the 1996 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Even though Dean set a meet record for margin of victory in the women’s javelin, that performance also started two impressive streaks that have yet to be matched.

Dean’s 1996 victory was dominating, as any of her five legal throws would have easily secured victory. Her PR of 56.72m (186-1) produced a winning margin of 5.64m (18-6), one only bettered after the current women’s javelin implement was introduced in 2000.

Some history-making came two days later for Dean in the inaugural NCAA women’s hammer throw. Dean finished fifth, marking the first time anyone had scored in the NCAA javelin/hammer combination since well before women were part of the NCAA meet (the only other occurrence came in 1935 when Charlie Gorgloff of Pittsburgh won the men’s javelin and placed fifth in the hammer).

The next two years saw more amazement in Dean’s NCAA career.

The first of Dean’s yet-unmatched streaks came in 1997 when she repeated scoring in both the javelin and hammer. Her continued success in the hammer – finishing third in both 1997 and 1998 – made her the first woman or man to score two times in the javelin/hammer combo, let alone three.

The second of Dean’s streaks came in her specialty, the javelin. Dean again won convincingly in both 1997 and 1998, giving her the NCAA meet’s first – and still only – run of three consecutive titles in the women’s event. Only two men’s javelin throwers have such an accomplishment – Bud Held of Stanford (1948-50) and Patrik Boden of Texas (1989-91).