Anna Cockrell, Athing Mu, Cambrea Sturgis Among The History-Makers On Saturday At Sensational NCAA Finale

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE, Ore. – It didn't take any 4x400 relay dramatics this time for the USC women to hoist the NCAA Championship trophy. 

Three years after Kendall Ellis' storybook comeback, it was a mature and poised USC team that took care of its business to win a second title in four years. 

Anna Cockrell, Twanisha "Tee Tee" Terry, Angie Annelus and Kyra Constantine were there then – at the old Hayward Field – and they were there Saturday. 

Cockrell joined Queen (Harrison) Claye of Virginia Tech in 2010 as the only woman to sweep the two hurdle events. In the absence of LSU's Tonea Marshall, who did not show for the final, Cockrell won the 100-meter hurdles in 12.58 seconds. And she ran a lifetime-best 54.68 to win the 400 hurdles.

Cockrell has had to live with the mistake of a dropped baton in the 4x400 in the 2019 finals that possibly cost a chance to the program to have three straight titles. USC finished last in that race and finished seven points behind happily surprised Arkansas team. 

"I'm really lucky, really blessed to have access to care," Cockrell said. "I'm really thankful for all the psychologists and therapists that have worked with me over the years because there was a time I would say I had fallen into despair and hopelessness and I didn't think this was possible. But from 2019 until now I've put in a lot of work off the track in a therapist's office."

This USC team didn't just click back into place, from the title year in 2018 or the dropped baton in 2019. It's been a journey. 

"I believe when she dropped the baton in 2019, that was (Cockrell's) biggest growth point," USC coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert said. "She learned that she wasn't super-human and that made her even better."

Terry anchored USC's 4x100 relay to a second straight victory in 42.82, placed second with a crazy-fast 10.79w in the 100 and placed fifth in the 200. 

Annelus, who lost her father in the past year to COVID-19, placed sixth in the 200 after winning the past two titles and ran on the 4x100 that secured back-to-back titles. 

Constantine placed third in the 400, one of three USC women to score in the event, and was on the runner-up 4x400 relay team that went faster than Ellis' group did in 2018. 

"This is a title of sacrifice and discipline," Smith-Gilbert said. "We had to give up quite a bit with COVID. We didn't have a lot of things at our disposal because of the COVID (rules) in California, so we had to be more disciplined how we took care of our bodies, what we put in our bodies, how we recovered, when we could train, how long we could train. Less was more."

USC was unable to start training until November of 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, but with a veteran group that took care of its day to day needs, the team never lost sight of its goals. 

Athing Mu of Texas A&M, who has taken the track and field world by storm in 2021, was languishing through a canceled final season of high school track and field a year ago. 

On Saturday, Mu smashed her own collegiate record in the 400 meters by running 49.57 seconds, and then anchored the Aggies' 4x400 relay with a split of 48.85 to another collegiate record (3:22.34). She became only the eighth female athlete in American history to produce a sub-49 relay split, including the first since Sydney McLaughlin at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

"I left everything for God. After COVID, I really started growing my connection with God, I realized that everything happens for a reason and God has a plan for all of us," Mu said. "I’m here for a  reason, I’m here doing this for a reason, I made it this far for a reason. He taught me, ‘This is what you’re supposed to be doing.’"

Mu got as much love as any of the Oregon athletes when she took her lap of honor and posed for photos and signed autographs. 

She'll fly back to Texas for a few days and then return to Eugene for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where she will contend for a spot on the U.S. team in the 800 meters. 

Mu turned 19 earlier in the week. At this point, she might be the best 800-meter runner in the world and will hope to find out if she can make the U.S. team, in Tokyo. 

The only school in the NCAA that took home top-four trophies in both genders: North Carolina A&T. 

The HBCU from Greensboro, N.C. made all kinds of history over four days at these championships – from Randolph Ross' 400 victory to the 4x400 relay victory of Friday night. 

On Saturday, it was Cambrea Sturgis' turn to shine. The sophomore from Kannapolis, N.C., became the fastest woman in NCAA history with an all-conditions record of 10.74 in the 100 meters (+2.2w). Then, she came back and won the 200 in 22.12 to elevate to the No. 4 all-time wind-legal competitor.

Sturgis became the first female sprinter to sweep both titles since Ariana (Washington) Murphy of Oregon in 2016. 

Mahala Norris of Air Force, who was a modestly talented high school runner at Roseburg High about an hour south of Eugene, turned in a gutsy personal-best peformance to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:31.79, out-running Auburn's Joyce Kimeli, Washington's Katie Rainsberger, BYU's Courtney Wayment and New Mexico's Charlotte Prouse in the fastest NCAA final ever. 

Norris is so new to the event that she has run it only five times – all since April 30 – and she has cut 32 seconds off her time since her first attempt. 

BYU's Anna Camp-Bennett won a hotly competitive 1,500 meters, outkicking Colorado's Sage Hurta and Stanford's Ella Donaghu to win in 4:08.53.

Virginia's Michaela Meyer won the 800 meters in 2:00.28 as the top four women broke 2:02.

North Carolina State's Elly Henes won the 5,000 meters, becoming the first female since her mother and coach, Laurie, won a NCAA title for the Wolfpack 30 years ago. 

In the discus, Arizona State's Jorinde van Klinken came up with a meet-record throw as she was trailing Iowa's Laulauga Tausaga, the defending champion, going into the sixth and final round. The world leader launched a throw of 213-3 (65.01m) to secure the win. 

Rachel Glenn of South Carolina won the high jump with 6-4 (1.93m), a personal best, and then took three attempts at the Olympic qualifying standard. So far, only three Americans have it. 

The tireless Tyra Gittens of Texas A&M contributed a victory in the heptathlon with 6,285 points, a second-place finish in the long jump at 21-11 (6.68m) and a third-place finish in the high jump with a 6-1.50 (1.87m) clearance – 24 points – to the Aggies' runner-up finish with 63 points. 

Texas Tech's Ruth Usoro bested a stellar field in the triple jump with a third-attempt mark of 46-6.75 (14.19m), become the first female athlete to sweep both indoor and outdoor titles since Keturah Orji of Georgia in 2018.