by Larry Eder
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–March 10
1868—Great Britain’s Walter Chinnery set a World Record of 4:29.6 in the Mile in Cambridge, England.
https://runner500.wordpress.com/tag/walter-chinnery/
1967–The 1/2-mile, held on the first day (3-10) of competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Detroit’s Cobo Arena, was a dream matchup between Villanova’s Dave Patrick, who had been tearing up the tracks in the East, and Kansas’ Jim Ryun, who had already established himself as one of the best runners in the world.
Both had run heats in the 880y earlier in the day, while Ryun had also run a tougher than expected heat in the Mile. When the gun went off, Patrick never gave Ryun a chance, moving out to a quick lead and winning easily in 1:48.9 to set a World Record. A tired Ryun, who made no excuses after the race, finished 2nd in 1:50.7, with Notre Dame’s Peter Farrell, the now-retired women’s coach at Princeton, right behind in 1:51.1.
Ryun came back the next day (3-11) to win the Mile in 3:58.6, while Patrick ran a 4:00.6 anchor on Villanova’s runnerup distance medley (Kansas State set a World Record of 9:44.6). Patrick tried to come back 1/2 hour later in the 2-mile relay, but collapsed at the end of his 2:07 split! Other winners at the meet included Nebraska’s Charlie Greene, who took the 60-yard dash for the 3rd year in a row (6.0), and Washington State’s Gerry Lindgren, who repeated in the 2-mile (8:34.7).
A couple of footnotes to the 1/2 mile–finishing 6th (1:55.0) was the late Joe Kearney, a senior at Manhattan College, who was my teammate at St.Augustine H.S in Brooklyn for two years. We ran together at Penn in 1961 on one of those early-morning mile relays.
As mentioned above, the 880 was on Friday, and I knew that ABC was going to include coverage of the race in its live show on Saturday. Not wanting to know the results before watching the show, I avoided reading the newspapers and never turned on the radio. So what does announcer Bill Flemming say at the top of the show? “Be sure to stay tuned to watch Dave Patrick beat Jim Ryun and set a world record”!
Video Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prm-OFs3DIU
Results: http://trojanforcestats.us/iNCAA-Meet-Results/iNCAAresults1967.pdf
1973—Manhattan College needed only 18 points (scoring was 6-4-3-2-1) to upset the “big boys” and win the team title at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Cobo Arena in Detroit (March 9,10).
The Jaspers, under the guidance of head coach Fred Dwyer and assistant Frank “Gags” Gagliano, got wins from Mike Keogh in the 2-mile (8:39.8) and its Distance Medley team (9:43.8/11-lap record), along with 3rd-place finishes by Cliff Bruce in the 1000y (2:10.7) and Ken McBryde in the Triple Jump (52-1 ½ [15.88]). The DMR team consisted of John Lovett (1:53.2/now an assistant coach at Manhattan), Ray Johnson (50.4), Joe Savage (2:55.9), and Tony Colon (4:04.3).
A long-time supporter of the Jaspers, I was a crazed fan in the stands as the meet progressed and was able to celebrate their win with them on the flight home to New York.
When the team arrived back on campus, they were greeted by a throng of fans and students who had gotten word of their unexpected victory.
Read Jim Irish’s in-depth analysis of how the small school from the Riverdale section of NY City rose to the top of the college ranks.
(for subscribers?): http://www.runnersworld.com/rt-web-exclusive/the-manhattan-project
Here’s to Manhattan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMovtWp_zvA
David & Goliath (by Mike Fanelli):
Results: http://trojanforcestats.us/iNCAA-Meet-Results/iNCAAresults1973.pdf
1979–Getting individual wins from Don Paige in the 1000y (2:07.27) and Anthony Tufariello in the 600y (1:09.41), Villanova edged UTEP, 52-51, to take the Men’s team title at the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 9,10) in Detroit’s Cobo Arena. The Wildcats didn’t clinch the title until they won the final event, the Mile Relay (3:15.52), with Tufariello contributing a 48-flat split on the 3rd leg. Villanova caught a break when UTEP’s 2nd-place 2-mile relay team was disqualified on an interference call on its 3rd runner.
UTEP’s Suleiman Nyambui, a 26-year old freshman from Tanzania, captured the first two of his record total of 15 NCAA individual titles, winning the Mile (3:57.89) over the Villanova duo of Sydney Maree (3:59.91) and Amos Korir (4:03.5) an hour after winning the first of his 4 straight titles in the 2-mile (8:37.87).
Maryland sophomore Renaldo Nehemiah won the 60y-Hurdles for the 2nd year in a row and his winning time of 6.90 just missed his World Record of 6.89.
Another repeat winner was Texas A&M’s Curtis Dickey, who won the 2nd of his 3 titles in the 60-yard dash, beating Auburn’s Harvey Glance, 6.15-6.17.
Mississippi College’s Larry Myricks, still in the early stages of what would become a Hall-of-Fame career, celebrated his 23rd birthday by winning the Long Jump with a leap of 25-10 ¾ (7.89).
Results: http://trojanforcestats.us/iNCAA-Meet-Results/iNCAAresults1979.pdf
1984–Mike Conley won the Long Jump and Triple Jump to lead Arkansas to the Men’s team title at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Syracuse (the first held outside the state of Michigan). It was the first NCAA team title for the legendary Arkansas program and its coach, John McDonnell. Later in the year, Conley, who won a total of 9 NCAA titles, went on to win the silver medal in the triple jump at the L.A. Olympics and won the gold medal 8 years later in Barcelona. There were some other significant individual winners at the 1984 NCs–Roger Kingdom (55h), Merlene Ottey (55m), Antonio McKay (400), Joetta Clark (1000m).
Results: http://trojanforcestats.us/iNCAA-Meet-Results/iNCAAresults1984.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_NCAA_Indoor_Track_and_Field_Championships
1989—A U.S. lineup of Clarence Daniel (46.4), Chip Jenkins (45.1), Ken Lowery (46.2), and Mark Rowe (46.5) set a World Record of 3:05.21 in the 4×400 relay in Glasgow, Scotland, at a tri-meet with Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
In other highlights, Great Britain’s Colin Jackson (7.44) edged Roger Kingdom (7.46) to win the 60-Meter Hurdles, Doug Padilla and Brian Diemer gave the U.S. a 1-2 finish in the 3000-Meters, GB’s Steve Crabb (3:39.55) won the 1500-Meters Jeff Atkinson (3:39.61), and Kenny Harrison won the Triple Jump (55-3 ½ [16.85).
Great Britain won the team scoring with 107 points, with the U.S. and the Soviet each scoring 104.
I was part of the TV crew that was in Glasgow to cover the meet for Turner Broadcasting and I was able to stay an extra few days to visit the many relatives I have in Scotland.
The meet was held in Kelvin Hall, where I had been many years earlier to watch a 1-ring circus with my parents and my younger sister!
And, following the old adage of “When in Rome…”, TBS announcers Craig Masback and Ron Thulin (and Steve Ovett, covering for British TV) got into the spirit of the venue by donning traditional kilts for the broadcast!
1990—Arkansas’ men won their 7th-straight team title at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis. The winning streak would continue for another 5 years, giving the Razorbacks and coach John McDonnell an amazing 12-year run as King of the NCAA hill.
Arkansas had two individual winners, Reuben Reina taking the 3000-Meters in 7:56.62, and Edrick Floréal the Triple Jump (54-10 ¾[16.73]). Floréal is currently the head coach at Texas. And Reina’s son of the same name will be running the mile for the Razorbacks at this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Championships!
Texas A&M’s Andre Cason won the 55-Meters over Houston’s Leroy Burrell (6.07-6.17). Now the head coach at Auburn, Burrell had won the Long Jump (27-0 [8.22]) on the first day of competition (3-9).
BYU’s Frank Fredericks won the first section of the 200 final on Friday in 20.98, but Baylor senior Michael Johnson captured the NCAA title by winning the 2nd section in 20.72 (Fredericks wound up 3rd overall). Johnson and Fredericks had a great rivalry that lasted a decade.
Led by Carlette Guidry, who won the 55 (6.66) and the 200 (23.28/3-9) and ran the 3rd leg on the Longhorn team that set a Collegiate Record of 3:32.01 in the 4×400 relay, Texas won the Women’s team title for the 3rd time in 5 years.
In addition to Guidry, other standout individuals included Cal’s Sheila Hudson, the winner of the Long Jump (3-9/21-9 ¼ [6.64]) and the Triple Jump (with an American and Collegiate Record of 45-9 [13.94]), Harvard’s Meredith Rainey, who set a Collegiate Record of 2:02.77 in the 800, Arizona State’s Lynda Tolbert, who set a CR in the 55-Meter Hurdles (7.45), and Wisconsin’s Suzy Favor, who remained unbeaten in NCAA competition on the track, winning her 6th and 7th individual titles (3000/9:02.30, Mile/4:38.19).
Results: http://trojanforcestats.us/iNCAA-Meet-Results/iNCAAresults1990.pdf
1990—The U.S. men topped Japan and the Soviet Union in a double-dual meet in Yokohama, Japan.
Among the individual winners were Ray Brown (800/1:48.92), Larry Myricks (LJ/27-2 ¾ [8.30), and Kenny Harrison (TJ/57-3 ½ [17.46].
There were a few invitational events for women, with Evelyn Ashford winning the 60 (7.18) and Vicki Huber the 3000 (8:56.63).
Dwight Stones and I, there with NBC, joined some members of the IAAF staff after the meet and found a traditional Japanese karaoke club. The local customers, accustomed to hearing Frank Sinatra-type ballads, didn’t seem amused when we belted out some rock ‘n roll songs!
1991–At the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in Syracuse, Melody Fairchild (Boulder,CO) shattered the 10-minute barrier in the 2-mile run with her winning time of 9:55.92, a National Record that stood until Mary Cain ran 9:38.68 in 2013.
Zundra Feagin (Cocoa H.S.,FL) set another NR with her time of 23.67 in the heats of the 200, but was beaten in the final by sophomore Marion Jones (Rio Mesa H.S.,CA), who ran 23.89. The positions were reversed in the 55, with Feagin (6.85-Meet Record) beating Jones (6.91).
Future NCAA Champion and Olympian Amy Rudolph (Kane,Pa) won the Mile in 4:58.86. and Dawn Burrell (Penn Wood,Pa) won the 55-hurdles in 7.95. Burrell, the younger sister of Leroy Burrell, the former World Record holder in the Men’s 100, went on to win the gold medal in the Long Jump at the 2001 World Indoor Championships in Lisbon.
Results: https://www.nationalscholastic.org/indoor_nationals/result/443
1991-On the final day of the World Indoor Championships in Seville, Hollis Conway won the High Jump with a leap of
7-10 ½ (2.40) and Diane Dixon won the Women’s 400 in 50.64 as both set American Records. Conway’s mark still stands, but Dixon’s record finally fell to Francena McCorory (50.54) at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships.
World and American Records were set in both 4x400s, with Germany winning the Men’s race in 3:03.05, followed by the U.S. in 3:03.24. Germany also won the Women’s race in 3:27.22, while the U.S. finished 3rd in 3:29.00.
Ireland’s Mark Carroll won his 2nd World title in the Men’s 3000-Meters (7:41.14), and Kenya’s Paul Ereng won his 2nd title in the Men’s 800 (1:47.08). Another repeat winner was Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey in the Women’s 200-Meters (22.24).
Algeria’s Nouredinne Morceli won the Men’s 1500(3-9) in 3:41.57…2-time defending champion Marcus O’Sullivan (3:44.79) finished 4th, but would win a 3rd title in 1993
Medalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships
1996–The National Scholastic Indoor Championships moved to the brand new Reggie Lewis Center in Boston/Roxbury Crossing.
Taking advantage of the state-of-the-art banked Mondo track, John Muir(CA), with Obea Moore running a 46.3 anchor leg, set a High School 4×400 record of 3:13.34 that lasted until 2009. Moore ran a 1:52.3 anchor in the previous night’s sprint medley to help Muir set its first National Record of the meet (3:25.90).
Tamieka Grizzle (George Washington,NYC) went out in 59.6 in the girls’ 800 and kept going on her way to a clocking of 2:04.90 to break Joetta Clark’s 16-year old Eastern prep record of 2:06.0. Only Mary Decker had run faster at the time.
There was talk of a possible record in the Girls’ 2-Mile by California phenom Julia Stamps, but she collapsed before the end of the race after setting a fast pace through the first mile.
Significant winners included Michael Granville (800-1:51.26), Michael Stember (Mile-4:10.07, (over future Stanford teammate Jonathon Riley), and Angela Williams (Chino,Ca), who won the Girls 60 (7.23) and 200 (23.73). Williams went on to win 4 NCAA titles in the 100 (and 1 in the 60) while at USC and won the gold medal in the 60-meters at the 2003 and 2008 World Indoor Championships.
2000–John Capel edged Shawn Crawford in the 200-Meters on the first day of the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with both running 20.26 to share the American and Collegiate Records.
Stanford, running with a lineup of Gabe Jennings (2:52.1), Evan Kelty (48.3), Michael Stember (1:48.4) and Jonathon Riley (4:00.0), improved its American Record in the Distance Medley to 9:28.83 (since broken).
Results: https://www.flashresults.com/2000_Meets/indoor/D1/dayone.htm
2000—A group of hardcore fans (including myself), were standing by the side of the track at the National Scholastics at NY’s Armory, too busy talking to pay too much attention as the Boys Distance Medley began. Someone finally said, “Hey, I think Gloucester(Ma) is running pretty fast”.
With our attention now fully focused on the race, we, and the rest of the fans in attendance, were treated to a barrier-breaking National Record, as Gloucester ran 9:59.94 to smash the previous mark of 10:10.30, which was set by West Springfield(Va) in 1998. Handling the baton for the New Englanders were Josh Palazola (3:04.1), Ngai Otieno (49.5), Shawn Milne (1:56.4), and Tristan Colangelo (4:09.9).
The record stood for exactly 17-years until Carlisle(PA), thanks to great opening and closing legs by Sam (3:02.1) and Noah (4:05.0) Affolder, ran 9:56.18 at the 2017 New Balance Indoor Nationals. (See below)
2001–The U.S. got a 1-2 finish in the Men’s Pole Vault at the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, but not without some drama. Tye Harvey found himself in 3rd place after teammate Lawrence Johnson and France’s Romain Mesnil both cleared 19-2 ¼ (5.85) on their 1st attempt. After missing on his 1st two tries, Harvey passed to the next height, which was 19-4 ¼ (5.90). Mesnil missed on his 1st attempt and Johnson passed, and then Harvey cleared on his 1st attempt to move into the lead, forcing Mesnil to pass to the next height—19-6 ¼ (5.95). All three missed on their first two attempts (eliminating Mesnil, who only had 2 remaining jumps), but Johnson made it on his 3rd. The gold was his after Harvey missed again.
Dawn Burrell went from bronze to gold in the Women’s Long Jump with her final effort of 23-3/4 (7.03). Russia’s Tayana Kotova (22-10 ¾ [6.98]) had to settle for 2nd place after fouling on her final effort.
Shawn Crawford won the Men’s 200 in 20.63.
Results:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships
2001—It was one of the tightest team battles in NCAA history, with only 3 points separating the top 4 placers at the Indoor Championships in Fayetteville: LSU 34, TCU 33, Arkansas 32, Alabama 31.
LSU came through with a needed win in the 4×400 relay to come out on top by 1 point.
There were two double winners in the meet, with TCU’s Kim Collins taking the 60 (6.58) and 200 (20.55), and Alabama’s David Kimani the 3000 (8:03.29) and 5000 (13:42.32).
UCLA’s women’s team only had one winner, Christina Tolson in the Shot Put (55-9 ¾ [16.40]), but their depth carried them to a comfortable win over South Carolina (53-1/2 to 40).
Georgia’s Thorey Elisdóttir, a Junior from Iceland, set a Collegiate Record of 14-9 1/2 (4.51) in the Pole Vault.
Results: http://www.ustfccca.org/assets/results/ncaa-champs/ncaa-division-i-indoor-champs-2001.html
2002—2 days after clearing 19-8 ½ (6.01), Jeff Hartwig cleared a personal best of 19-9 (6.02) in the Pole Vault in Sindelfingen, Germany. The mark was listed for years as the “pending” U.S. Record on the USATF website, with Lawrence Johnson’s 19-6 ½ (5.96) from the 2001 Nationals in Atlanta listed as the official record.
The “conflict” was finally resolved in 2016. While neither of his two best marks were ever ratified, USATF did recognize his jump of 19-8 ¼ (6.00), which was achieved in Donetsk, Ukraine (Sergey Bubka’s hometown) on Feb.24, 2002. So, while the official mark still didn’t reflect the highest vault ever by an American, at least the right man was getting his long overdue recognition as the American Record holder. (Sam Kendricks broke Hartwig’s record when he jumped 19-8 ½ [6.01] on February 8, 2020).
2002–Disappointed after finishing 2nd to Angel Perkins in both events at the 2001 National Scholastic Indoor Championships, Sanya Richards (St.Aquinas,FL) came back with a vengeance to the meet at NY’s Armory this year, winning both events with National H.S. Record times of 23.22 and 52.10. Richards ran 23.41 in her 200 semi-final race (3-9) to smash Perkins’ National Record of 23.59.
”Sanya has been intensely focused on this meet since last September,” said John Guarino, her coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale. ”Sanya was so disappointed at finishing second to Angel Perkins in the 200 and 400 last year here that she was determined to be in super shape by the time of this meet.”
Finishing 2nd to Richards in the 200 was another future Olympic champion, Allyson Felix, who came away with a win in the 60-meters (7.48). Richards (Ross) and Felix would become two of the best sprinters in the world and are sure to become Hall-of-Famers. While Richards-Ross retired after the 2016 season, Felix qualified for her 5th Olympic team in 2021, earning a bronze medal in the 400-Meters and gold in the 4×400! She closed out her career in 2022 by winning gold in the 4×400 and bronze in the mixed 4×400 at the World Championships in Eugene.
Bershawn Jackson (Miami Central,FL), who would win the bronze medal in the 400-Meter Hurdles at the 2008 Olympics (and gold at the 2005 Worlds), won the 200 (21.29) and 60-Meter Hurdles (7.94). Deep Creek(Va) set a National record of 1:27.09 in the Boys’ 4×200 relay. Donovan Kilmartin (Eagle,ID), who would win three NCAA Indoor Heptathlon titles at Texas, won the Pentathlon (3920) and Chaunté Howard-Lowe (JW North,Ca), the 2004 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Champion (and 3-time Olympian[bronze-2008), and American Indoor and Outdoor record holder, won the High Jump (5-10).
NY Times Coverage (3-9,10)
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/10/sports/track-and-field-two-us-high-school-indoor-records-are-set-at-armory.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/11/sports/track-and-field-17-year-old-demolishes-2-records.html
Results: https://ny.milesplit.com/meets/1065-national-scholastic-indoor-champs-2002/results#.ZAlDOLTMIfB
DyeStat: http://archive.dyestat.com/us/2in/NSIC/results.htm
Richards-Ross: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanya_Richards-Ross
Felix: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allyson_Felix
Kilmartin: http://archive.dyestat.com/3us/3in/NSIC/kilmartin.htm
2002–At the Nike Indoor Classic in Landover,MD, Tianna Madison (Elyria,OH) won the Girls’ Long Jump with a leap of 20-2 (6.16). Madison would go on to win gold medals in the Long Jump and 4×100 at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. She also won gold in the 4×100 in London in 2012 and won two World Outdoor titles in the Long Jump—10 years apart! (2005, 2015).
Molly Huddle (Notre Dame,NY), another future star, won the Girls’ Mile in 4:46.42.
Kelly Willie (Sterling,Tx), a future Olympic gold medalist in the 4×400 relay (2004), won his 2nd straight 400 title, running a fast 47.29 on the flat 200-meter track in Landover,Md.
DyeStat: http://archive.dyestat.com/us/2in/NIC/results.htm
Madison: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianna_Bartoletta
Huddle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Huddle
2006—Americans won 3 gold medals on the opening day of competition at the World Indoor Championships in Moscow.
Reese Hoffa won the Men’s Shot Put with a toss of 72-6 ½ (22.11), Lisa Barber edged teammate Lauryn Williams in a photo-finish in the Women’s 60-Meters (7.01 for both), and Leonard Scott won the Men’s 60-Meters in 6.50. Terrence Trammell finished 3rd in the latter race and came back the next day to win the 60-Meter Hurdles!
2007–Southern Illinois’ Brittany Riley set a World Record of 83-10 ¼ (25.56) in the Women’s 20-pound Weight Throw at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville (March 9-10). Her reign as WR-holder lasted 10 years until Gwendolyn Berry threw 84-0 (25.60) at the 2017 U.S. Championships in Albuquerque,NM.
Other notable winners:
Men
200(3-9)–Walter Dix (Florida State/20.32, defender)
Mile—Leo Manzano (Texas/3:59.90)
3000—Lopez Lomong (Northern Arizona/7:49.74-over Chris Solinsky/7:51.69)
5000(3-9)—Chris Solinsky (Wisconsin/13:38.61…3.Galen Rupp (Oregon/13:40.38)
High Jump—Donald Thomas (Auburn/7-7 ¾ [2.33])
Women
60/200(3-9)—Kerron Stewart (Texas/7.15, 22.59)
400—Natasha Hastings (South Carolina/50.80-Collegiate Record)
800—Alysia Johnson (Montaño) (Cal/2:03.47)
Mile—Shannon Rowbury (Duke/4:42.17/2nd in the 3000-9:02.73)
3000/5000(3-9)—Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech/9:02.05, 15:27.42)
Wisconsin became the first Big-10 school to win an NCAA Indoor title, topping Florida by 5 points (40-35) to capture the men’s crown. Arizona State won the Women’s title over LSU(38-33).
Results: https://www.flashresults.com/2007_Meets/Indoor/NCAA1_07/index.htm
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcTI83Qh6dg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4KmKK5dENI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvi-HbW5ukI
2012—Ashton Eaton set a World Record of 6645 points on the 2nd day of competition (March 9-11) in Istanbul, Turkey, while winning the first of his three World Indoor titles in the Heptathlon. He set the two previous records in 2010 (6499) and 2011 (6568). He would go on to win the first of his two Olympic gold medals in the Decathlon in London later in the year. (6.79, 26-9 ¼ [8.16], 47-9 ¼ [14.56], 6-8 [2.03], 7.68 17-3/4 [5.20], 2:32.77)
Justin Gatlin (6.46) won his 2nd World title in the Men’s 60-Meters, 9 years after winning his 1st in 2003
Americans Chaunté Lowe (HJ/6-6 [1.98]) and Sanya Richards (400/50.79) won their respective events, with Natasha Hastings(51.82) picking up the bronze medal in the 400.
New Zealand’s Val Adams won the 3rd of her 4th titles in the Women’s Shot Put with an Oceania Indoor Record of 67-4 ¾ (20.54), while Americans Michelle Carter 64-3 (19.58) and Jill Camarena-Williams 63-9 ½ (19.44) won the silver and bronze medals.
France’s Renaud Lavillenie won his 3rd World Indoor title in the Pole Vault with a winning jump of 19-6 ¼ (5.95). Brad Walker (19-1/4 [5.80]) won the bronze medal.
Eaton: https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/eaton-totals-6645-points-heptathlon-world-rec
2012—Sparked by individual winners Jeff Demps (60/6.56-3rd in a row) and Omar Craddock (Triple Jump/54-11 ½ [16.75]), Florida won its 3rd straight Men’s team title at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Nampa, Idaho. It was the 4th straight year that a Florida Gator won the Triple Jump, Christian Taylor winning in 2009-2010, and Will Claye in 2011. That’s one of the reasons the school is known as “Jump U.”!
Oregon’s women also scored a 3-peat, getting individual wins from freshman English Gardner (60/7.12) and senior Brianne Theisen (Pentathlon/4536-3rd in a row).
TCU senior Whitney Gipson won the Women’s Long Jump with a leap of 22-8 (6.91), equaling the Collegiate Record that was originally set by Auburn’s Eva Goulbourne in 2002.
Results: https://www.flashresults.com/2012_Meets/indoor/03-09-NCAA/index.htm
Oregon: https://goducks.com/news/2012/3/11/205395809.aspx
2017—17-years to the day after Gloucester (MA) became the first high school team to break 10-minutes for the Distance Medley (9:59.94), Carisle(PA) became the 2nd, running 9:56.18 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at NY’s Armory to set a new National H.S. Record. Sam Affolder-3:02.1, Jared Griffie-51.7, Isaac Kole-1:57.4, Noah Affolder-4:05.0).
That record withstood a serious challenge in 2018 on the opening day of the NB Nationals at the Armory. Brentwood (TN) won the race in 9:56.31, with Brodey Hasty, who had run 4:00.05 for the mile at the Millrose Games, splitting “only” 4:09.3 on the anchor leg! Hasty, more concerned with the win than breaking the record, was content to wait until the final 200-meters before running away from Mason Gatewood (4:07.8) of St.Anthony’s (NY-9:58.36/now #6 All-Time), and Sam Affolder (4:13.4), who had transferred to Loudoun Valley (VA-10:00.58).
Alas, the Record finally fell at the 2019 NBNI when Loudoun Valley, with transfer Sam Affolder running a 4:06.2 anchor, ran 9:54.41!
Current All-Time List (From Jack Shepard’s HST)
9:53.40 Ridge, Basking Ridge, New Jersey 2022
9:54.41 Loudoun Valley, Purcellville, Virginia 2019
9:55.12 Union Catholic, Scotch Plains, New Jersey 2022
9:56.18 Carlisle, Pennsylvania 2017
9:56.31 Brentwood, Tennessee 2018
9:58.36 St. Anthony’s, South Huntington, New York 2018
9:59.94 Gloucester, Massachusetts 2000
10:00.06 Crater, Central Point, Oregon 2024
10:00.20 Crater, Central Point, Oregon 2023
10:00.25 Buchholz, Gainesville, Florida 2024
10:00.58 Loudon Valley, Purcellville,VA 2018
10:00.67 Cathedral, Los Angeles, California 2024
2018—It was a spectacular NCAA Div.I Indoor Championships in College Station, TX (March 9-10).
USC’s Michael Norman led the way by setting a “World Record” of 44.52 in the Men’s 400-meters and then anchoring the Trojans to a win in the 4×400 with a time of 3:00.77, the fastest ever run indoors. 2nd in this greatest indoor 4×400 ever was Texas A&M in 3:01.39, followed by Florida in 3:01.43. Those are the 3 fastest times in history! See below for an attempt to explain the confusing (to some) records situation.
Having coaches like Leroy Burrell and Carl Lewis certainly helped Houston’s Elijah Hall, who won the 60-meters in 6.52 and the 200 with an American and Collegiate Record of 20.02.
Syracuse junior Justyn Knight won the 5000-meters (3-9) in 14:14.47, but was denied a 2nd win in the 3000 (3-10) by Northern Arizona’s Andy Trouard (8:04.94-8:05.76).
UTEP’s Michael Saruni won the 800-meters in 1:45.15, 2nd only to the Collegiate Record of 1:44.84, set by his coach, Paul Ereng, on the All-Time College list.
USC’s Randall Cunningham won the High Jump with a clearance of 7-6 (2.29), but then suffered a broken tibia and fibula on his 1st attempt at 7-7 ¼ (2.32). His dad, Randall, Sr., was a star quarterback in the NFL, and his sister Vashti is the #1 American in the Women’s High Jump.
Despite Michal Norman’s heroics, USC finished 2nd to Florida in the team standings (40-37).
The two best runners in the Women’s 400 were split into separate sections, leading fans to wonder, “What if?”. USC’s
Kendall Ellis won the 1st section in a blazing 50.34 to break Phyllis Francis’ American and Collegiate Record of 50.46, set in 2014. Ellis then had to watch nervously as Kentucky freshman Sydney McLaughlin just missed “stealing” the title (and records) from her as she won the 2nd section in 50.36. McLaughlin, who turned pro after the 2018 collegiate season, did get credit for improving her World and American Junior Record of 50.52. Ellis (50.8) came back to anchor USC to a win in the 400 (3:27.45).
Harvard junior Gabby Thomas set a Collegiate Record of 22.38 in the 200-meters.
Keturah Orji finished 2nd to teammate Kate Hall in the Long Jump (22-1 to 21-4 ¾) and won the 5th of her 6 NCAA titles in the Triple Jump to lead Georgia to its first NCAA team title.
About that Men’s 4×400-since U.S.-born Rai Benjamin was still considered by the IAAF to be a representative of Antigua, for whom he had competed in international competition, USC’s time of 3:00.77 can not be recognized as a World Record, but it stands as the Collegiate Record.
Runnerup Texas A&M’s 3:01.39 and Norman’s 44.52 were not ratified as official World Records because the NCAA drug-testing policy doesn’t conform to the World Athletics(IAAF) standard.
4×400 Lineups/Splits
- USC 3:00.77 (Zach Shinnick 46.2, Rai Benjamin 44.4, Ricky Morgan 45.7, Michael Norman 44.5);
- Texas A&M 3:01.39(Ilolo Izu 46.6, Robert Grant 44.8, Devin Dixon 45.5, Mylik Kerley 44.5);
- Florida 3:01.43 (Fasasi 46.4, Holloway 44.9, Sawyers 45.4, Vedel 44.7)
Results: https://www.flashresults.com/2018_Meets/Indoor/03-09_NCAA/
NCAAA History: https://www.ustfccca.org/meets-results/meet-history?series=3368
T&F News: Div.I Records: Men Women<
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