by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy is one of the finest track statisticians that I know. Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, an excellent daily service that provides true geek stories about our sport. You can check out the service for FREE with a free one-month trial subscription! (email: WaltMurphy44@gmail.com ) for the entire daily service. We will post a few historic moments each day, beginning February 1, 2024.
By Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com), used with permission
This Day in Track & Field–June 12
1900—Walter Tewksbury ran 10.8 in Philadelphia to become the first American to break 11-seconds in the 100-meters. The Penn grad had won the 100y and 220y at the 1898 and 1899 IC4A Championships.
He went on to win five medals at the 1900 Olympics in Paris–gold in the 200 and 400-Hurdles, silver in the 60 and 100, and bronze in the 200-Meter Hurdles.
The longer hurdles race was contested quite differently than it is today—the hurdles were fashioned out of telegraph poles and there was a 16-foot water jump before the finish!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Tewksbury
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/79119
1926—Two current and future Olympic champions won titles at the 5th NCAA Championships in Chicago
USC’s Bud Houser, who had already won the first of his two Olympic titles in the event in 1924 (he would also win in 1928), won the Discus with a Meet Record throw of 148-11 (45.38). He is a member of the National Hall of Fame.
Another Meet Record was set by Kansas State Teachers’ John Kuck, who won the Shot Put with a toss of 50-3/4 (15.26). Kuck went on to win Olympic gold in 1928.
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/1926.pdf
Olympic Video(Kuck): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRhV3W1L3XU
Kansas Hall of Fame (Kuck):
https://www.kshof.org/team/john-kuck
1943—Cal’s Hal Davis, who was kept from achieving possible Olympic glory because of World War II, won the 100y (10.0) and 220y (21.4) for the second year in a row at the NCAA Championships, which were held in Evanston, Illinois. Davis was a member of the charter class of the U.S. Hall of Fame in 1974
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1943.pdf
1954—Oregon’s Bill Dellinger won the Mile in 4:13.8 at the NCAA Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dellinger would win the bronze medal in the 5000-Meters 10 years later at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, and was a long-time coach at Oregon.
Pittsburgh’s Arnie Sowell (1:50.5) won the 880y over Fordham’s Tom Courtney (1:51.1). Courtney was the 1956 Olympic champion at 800-Meters (Sowell was 4th in Melbourne).
USC’s Jim Lea won the 440y (46.7) for the 2nd year in a row.
USC won its 6th-straight team title in dominating fashion, scoring 66-17/20 points to Illinois’ 31-17/20.
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1954.pdf
Sowell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnie_Sowell
1965–Japan’s Morio Shigematsu ran 2:12:00 in England to break Abebe Bikila’s World Record in the Marathon (2:12:11.2).
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_world_record_progression
1971—The American Record in the Women’s Mile was broken for the 3rd time in a span of 8 days. Francie Larrieu had run 4:41.5 on June 5 in Berkeley to break Doris Brown’s 3-year-old mark of 4:42.2, only to have Brown take it back the following day (June 6) in Tacoma with her clocking of 4:41.3. Brown then improved the record on this day (June 12) in Portland to 4:39.6. Larrieu would regain the record two years later by running 4:38.7 in Bakersfield.
1972–Sweden’s Kjell Isaksson gets his 3rd World Record in the Pole Vault with his clearance of 18-2 ½ (5.55) in Helsingborg.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_pole_vault_world_record_progression
Sports Illustrated Vault(after his 2nd WR): https://vault.si.com/vault/1972/04/24/over-and-over-again
1976—4 women set American Records at the U.S. Championships at UCLA (6-11,12).
Kathy McMillan bettered her own U.S. and High School Records in the Long Jump with a leap of 22-3 (6.78). That
lasted as the National prep record for 39-years until Kate Hall jumped 22-5 (6,83) in 2015.
Kate Schmidt set the 9th of her 10 National Records in the Javelin with a throw of 218-3 (60.52).
Jan Merrill won the 3000-Meters in 8:57.17 to break Francie Larrieu’s AR of 9:03.02.
Prairie View’s Arthurine Gainer won the 400-Meter Hurdles in 57.24 to break Debbie Esser’s day-old mark of
58.98, which was set in the qualifying round. Esser bettered her own mark in the final with her runnerup
time of 57.56.
Other highlights:
Men
1500-1.Eamonn Coghlan(Ireland) 3:42.4
5000 (6-11)-1.Dick Buerkle 13:31.2, 2.Marty Liquori 13:41.0
400m-Hurdles-1.Tom Andrews (USC) 48.55…4.Edwin Moses 48.99
High Jump (6-11)-1.Dwight Stones (Long Beach State) 7-4 ¼ (2.34)
Discus(6-11)-1.Mac Wilkins 230-0 (70.10/#2 performance all-time)
Women
100-1.Chandra Cheeseborough 11.34w
800-1.Madeline Manning 2:01.0
1500-1.Francie Larrieu 4:09.9
High Jump-1.Joni Huntley 6-2(1.88)
Shot Put-1.Maren Seidler 54-4(16.56)
This was the first year for a combined Men’s-Women’s Championship. The U.S. Olympic Trials were held the
following week.
AR Progressions
LJ: http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_AllUSA.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=WF3&Gender=W&P=F
JT: http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_AllUSA.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=WF8&Gender=W&P=F
3000: http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_AllUSA.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=WA6&Gender=W&P=F
400h: http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_AllUSA.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=WB2&Gender=W&P=F
1993—Tom Pukstys threw 281-2 (85.70) to set the first of his six American records in the Javelin. Tom Petranoff had held the previous record of 280-1 (85.38) for almost 7 years (1986).
Pukstys was a 2-time Olympian and 6-time U.S. Champion.
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78921
2004—Lots of future stars on display at the NCAA Championships (June 9-12), but the meet was marred by a torrential downpour on the first day of competition in Austin that led to the elimination of all semi-finals and some field event qualifying rounds.
The highlights:
Baylor sophomore Jeremy Wariner won the Men’s 400 in 44.71 and ran the 3rd leg on the Bears’ winning 4×400 relay.
Arkansas won its 11th men’s team title, but with a different twist this time. Normally relying on their distance runners and jumpers, the Razorbacks got key points from sprinters Tyson Gay, winner of the 100 (10.08/4th in the 200), and Wallace Spearmon, winner of the 200 (20.12w). The two also ran on the 4×100 team that finished 4th.
Miami junior Lauryn Williams won the Women’s 100 (10.97).
UNC Junior Laura Gerraughty 59-11 (18.26) 5th round) won the Women’s Shot Put over Stanford senior Jill Camarena
59-5 (18.11).
Florida freshman Kerron Clement won the Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles (49.05), while UCLA senior Sheena Johnson repeated as the winner of the Women’s event and lowered her Collegiate Record to 53.54. 2nd was South Carolina senior Lashinda Demus, who was also under the previous CR (54.24) with her time of 54.22.
Manhattan senior Jake Freeman won the Hammer Throw with a toss of 232-2 (70.77). He was the 2003 NCAA Indoor Champion in the Weight Throw and went on to win 3 U.S. titles (Hammer-2010, WT-2011,2013)
Tennessee junior DeeDee Trotter’s late charge gave her the win (50.32) in the Women’s 400-Meters over UCLA junior Monique Henderson (50.62), and Texas sophomore Sanya Richards(Ross/50.68), the defending champion.
Georgia Tech soph Chaunté Howard(Lowe) won the Women’s High Jump (6-4[1.93]).
UCLA edged LSU, 69-68, to win the women’s team title.
Results(Finalists):
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2004.pdf
Women: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2004w.pdf
Complete: http://www.flashresults.com/2004_Meets/outdoor/ncaa1/
Men’s 4×400: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-zN1tBazfc
2008–Cuba’s Dayron Robles ran 12.87 in Ostrava to set a World Record in the 110-Meter Hurdles.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_110_metre_hurdles_world_record_progression
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DaUxXvl-uY
IAAF Report: https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/robles-1287-world-record-in-ostrava-iaaf-wo
2010—Not yet husband and wife, Oregon’s dynamic duo of Ashton Eaton (8457) and Brianne Theisen (6094) thrilled the hometown crowd at Eugene’s Hayward Field by sweeping the Decathlon (6-9/10) and Heptathlon (6-10/11) at the NCAA Championships (June 9-12).
Another highlight event for the Ducks was the Men’s 1500-meters, with Andrew Wheating (3:47.94) A.J. Acosta (3:48.01), and Matthew Centrowitz (3:48.08) sweeping the top 3 places. It was the 2nd victory for Wheating (1:45.69), who won the 800 on Friday (6-11) over Virginia freshman Robby Andrews (1:46.83), who had edged him to win the NCAA Indoor title in March.
Virginia Tech senior Queen Harrison was a double winner, finishing first in both Women’s hurdles races(12.67, 54.55).
Alabama freshman Kirani James won the first of his two titles in the Men’s 400-Meters (6-11/45.05) and Hampton senior Francena
McCorory won the Women’s 400 (50.69).
Indiana sophomore Derek Drouin (7-5/2.26) won the 2nd of his five NCAA titles in the Men’s High Jump.
Liberty junior Sam Chelanga won the Men’s 10,000 (28:37.40) and would go on to win 4 more NCAA distance titles.
Texas A&M swept the team titles, edging Florida by one point on the men’s side (55-54), and running away with women’s crown over the Gators (72-40).
Results(Finalists)
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2010.pdf
Women: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2010w.pdf
Complete: http://www.flashresults.com/2010_Meets/outdoor/NCAA/
800/1500: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpPxP9F4MGM
2010—Another throwing record for the Crouser family, with Sam, a senior at Gresham(OR) H.S., improving his 6-week old prep standard (244-2/74.42) in the Javelin to 255-4 (77.84) at the Rose Festival in Portland,OR. He went on to win two NCAA titles while at Oregon (2014,2015) and competed in the qualifying round at the 2016 Olympics (his cousin Ryan won gold in the Shot Put in Rio & Tokyo).
2015–USC’s Andre DeGrasse, a junior from Canada, had a sensational sprint double at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, winning the 100 and 200 with wind-aided times of 9.75 and 19.58. Baylor’s Trayvon Bromell, the defending champion, finished 2nd (9.88) in the 100 and was 3rd in the 200 (19.86) behind the 2014 Champion, Florida senior Dedric Dukes (19.86).
DeGrasse would win bronze medals in the 100 and 4×100 at the 2015 World Championships and 3 medals at the 2016 Olympics (silver-200, bronze-100, 4×100) and again in Tokyo in 2021 (gold-200, bronze-100,4×100). Bromell was the co-bronze medalist (with DeGrasse) in the 100 at the ’15 Worlds and was the 2016 World Indoor Champion at 60-meters.
Oregon sophomore Edward Cheserek, still in the early stages of what would become a legendary career, won the 5000 (13:48.67) and 10,000 (28:58.92/June 10), with teammate Eric Jenkins, a transfer from Northeastern, finishing a close 2nd in both races. “King” Ches would wind up with a record total of 17 NCAA titles!
Arkansas’ Omar McLeod, a sophomore from Jamaica, won the 110-Hurdles (13.01w) and ran the lead-off leg on the Razorbacks’ winning 4×100 team. He was a winner in the hurdles at the 2016 Olympics and 2017 World Championships.
Florida senior Marquis Dendy was another double winner, taking the Long and Triple Jumps with wind-aided marks of 27-8 (8.43) and 58-1 ¼ (17.71). He would win the Long Jump at the 2016 World Indoor Championships.
Akron’s Shawn Barber won the Pole Vault with a clearance of 18-4 ½ (5.65). The U.S. native, competing for Canada, the birthplace of his father, would win gold at the World Championships in Moscow later in the year.
Georgia’s Maicel Uibo, a junior from Estonia, won the Decathlon with a score of 8356 points. His future wife (and former Georgia teammate), the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller, would win the gold medal in the 400-meters at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics.
5 years to the day after setting the current National H.S. Record in the event (see above), Oregon senior Sam Crouser won his 2nd straight title in the Javelin (259-9[79.19]).
Oregon won the team title by 29 points over Florida (85-56) on this day of men’s-only finals. The women would take center stage the following day (June 13), with Oregon completing the sweep of the team titles. This was the first year this format was implemented.
Finalists
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2015.pdf
Complete Results: http://flashresults.com/2015_Meets/Outdoor/06-10_NCAA/
Oregon Sweep: http://goducks.com/news/2015/6/14/210149391.aspx?path=track
Men: http://goducks.com/news/2015/6/13/210147052.aspx?path=track
2021—A day after the men completed their segment of the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the women took center stage.
Texas A&M frosh Athing Mu had her hand in two Collegiate Records, starting with a win in the 400-Meters in 49.57, breaking her previous mark of 49.88 that she set earlier in the season. She finished the day by running a 48.8 anchor split, the fastest ever run by a collegian, to lead the Aggies to a CR of 3:22.34 in the 4×400 Relay. Running the first 3 legs for A&M were Tierra Robinson-Jones (51.9), Cherokee Young (49.7), and Jaevin Reed (51.9). Those would be the last two collegiate races for Mu, who announced soon after the meet that she was turning pro.
It was a busy two days for Mu’s teammate, Tyra Gittens, who won the Heptathlon (6285), finished 3rd in the High Jump (6-1 ½ [1.87]), and 2nd in the Long Jump (21-11 [6.68]).
Another busy athlete was North Carolina A&T sophomore Cambrea Sturgis, who won the 100 (10.74w) and 200 (22.12) and ran the lead-off leg on the 4×100 team that finished 3rd.
Texas sophomore Tara Davis, who had broken Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s Collegiate Record in the Long Jump at the Texas Relays, won here with a leap of 21-11 ¾ (6.70).
Senior Anna Cockrell won both the 100-meter and 400-meter Hurdles races (12.58, 54.68) to lead USC (74) to the team title over Texas A&M (63). She got strong support from teammate Twanisha (“TeeTee”) Terry, who finished 2nd in the 100 (10.79w), 5th in the 200 (22.69), and anchored the winning 4×100 Relay.
Cal-Berkeley junior Camryn Rogers set two Collegiate Records in the Hammer, first throwing 245-11 (74.97) and then 247-9 (75.52).
North Carolina State senior Elly Henes won the 5000-Meters in 15:28.05, much to the delight of her mom (and coach) Laurie (Gomez) Henes, who won the same event 20 years earlier at the 1991 NCAA Championships.
https://www.flashresults.com/2021_Meets/Outdoor/06-09_NCAA/
https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2021w.pdf
LetsRun Coverage: https://www.letsrun.com/events/2021-ncaa-outdoor-track-field-championships/
Videos
400: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MFSeTY7_d8
4×400: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OciBR96z_E
NCAA History
Past Champions(Through 2019)
Men: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2019/D1Men.pdf
Women: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2019/D1Women.pdf
USTFCCCA: http://www.ustfccca.org/meets-results/meet-history?series=3369
T&F News
https://trackandfieldnews.com/historical-results/a-history-of-the-ncaa-championships-1921-2018/
