TCU
NCAA Championships
Preview: NCAA Outdoor Championships
6/9/2021 11:09:00 AM | Men's Outdoor Track, Women's Outdoor Track
FORT WORTH — Four individuals and two relays will represent TCU at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Meet Day Information
Date: June 9-12, 2021
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Venue: Hayward Field at the University of Oregon
Live Results: Click here
Horned Frog Entries
The top-12 student-athletes from each regional advanced to the 2021 outdoor championships to form the field of 24.
Tinotenda Matiyenga - 100m (No. 19), 200m (No. 22)
Robert Gregory Jr. - 200m (No. 20)
Men's 4x100 relay (No. 7)
Men's 4x400 relay (No. 14)
Chengetayi (Du) Mapaya - triple jump (No. 3)
Brittany Brown - 100mH (No. 24)
Broadcast Schedule
Field events will be shown on ESPN 3 every day.
Wednesday, June 9
7:00 p.m. CT - ESPNU
8:00 p.m. CT - ESPN 2
Thursday, June 10
5:30 p.m. CT - ESPN 2
Friday, June 11
7:00 p.m. CT - ESPN 2
Saturday, June 12
5:00 p.m. CT - ESPNU
Big 12 Outdoor Champions
Chengetayi (Du) Mapaya established a facility record, season-best mark and Big 12 Championship record with his distance of 17.01 meters (55' 9.75").
He captured his third facility record at R.V. Christian Track & Field Complex in Manhattan, Kansas, en route to his fourth Big 12 title. Mapaya jumped 16.78m (55' 0.75") to break the E.B. Cushing Stadium Record this past month in College Station, Texas. His first facility record occurred at Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center during indoor season where he leaped 16.85m (55' 3.5"), breaking the school record.
The Harare, Zimbabwe, native broke Will Claye's Big 12 Championship record (16.94m) from 2009 on his first attempt. Claye went on to be an Olympian for the United States in 2012 and 2016. The Olympic standard this year is 17.14m.
The men's 4x100 squad of TJ Brock, Tinotenda Matiyenga, Kundai Maguranyanga and Robert Gregory Jr. also garnered gold medals. The squad ran a 39.75 in a downpour, topping Texas by four-thousandths of a second.
Big 12 Silver Medalists
Ten-time All-American Derrick Mokaleng collected his fourth Big 12 silver medal of his Horned Frog career in the 400m, running 45.95 and earning eight points. Freshman David Seete also contributed three points with a sixth-place finish (46.94). Both Frogs run on TCU's 4x400 relay. TCU's 11 points in the 400 led the conference.
Gregory Jr. earned his second medal of the day in the 200 as the standout sprinter placed second and ran a 20.69. Matiyenga (sixth) and Maguranyanga (seventh) completed the trio of Horned Frogs in the 200m final, who combined for a conference-high 13 points in the event.
Big 12 Athletes of the Week
A pair of Horned Frogs were honored as Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week following their standout performances at the TCU Invitational. Gregory Jr. was tabbed the Men's Athlete of the Week, while Destiny Longmire earned Women's Athlete of the Week.
Gregory clocked a 20.67 to win the men's 200m. His mark ranks No. 13 in the nation and third in the Big 12. The freshman was also the anchor of TCU's 4x100 relay.
Longmire, a senior, set a personal best in the long jump, leaping 6.59m (21-7.5) en route to a first-place finish at the TCU Invitational. Her mark is fourth in the country.
USTFCCCA Rankings
The Frogs jumped into the Top-25 at No. 21 in the third set of outdoor rankings on April 12th. The men currently sit at No. 27 headed into the pinnacle of the season.
The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) ranked TCU's men's track and field team No. 25 at the conclusion of indoor season.
Just Du It
Chengetayi (Du) Mapaya returns for his senior campaign to defend his national title in the outdoor triple jump from 2019 (16.83m / 55-2.75). He also garnered a silver medal at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships (16.95m / 57-7.5) and a bronze medal at the 2019 indoor edition (16.61m / 54-6) as well. As a freshman in 2018, Mapaya reached the indoor championship in the triple jump and finished third with a 16.38m (53-9) jump. His worst finish at the national meet came during outdoor season as a freshman in 2018 when he jumped 16.42m en route to 5th place and First-team All-America honors.
Mapaya secured his national championship in the most dramatic fashion possible. Going into his sixth and final jump of the night, Mapaya was in third place after a jump of 16.94m (55-7) in his fifth attempt. On the final jump of the competition, Mapaya jumped 17.13m (56-2.5) passing up event leader Jordan Scott of Virginia (17.01m, 55-9.75) and winning the national championship. It was TCU's first national title in track and field since Ronnie Baker won the 60m dash in 2016.
The Harare, Zimbabwe, native is a six-time All-American.
Record Breaker
Mapaya's silver medal mark (16.95m / 55-7.5) broke Ndabazihle Mdhlongwa's Zimbabwe indoor triple jump record from 1998 (16.89m), as well as TCU's school record.
His jump also noted a new indoor personal best for the Harare, Zimbabwe, native. The senior's previous best indoor jump was 16.85m (55-3.5) at the Texas Tech Shootout that set a TCU record earlier this year.
The Bowerman
Mapaya received votes in the Mid-Indoor Watch List for The Bowerman.
Mapaya was also named to The Bowerman's Preseason Watch List in 2020. He is the third student-athlete from TCU to appear on the watch list (Ronnie Baker, 2016) (Whitney Gipson, 2012). Charles Silmon was a semifinalist for the award in 2013, but did not appear on a watch list - a distinction that is announced after the season is over.
The Bowerman is the highest honor bestowed to collegiate track & field's most outstanding athletes of the year. This is the 13th year of the award program, having started in 2009.
Only ten men and ten women will be on the official watch list during each update. Semifinalists from the previous year are automatically on the preseason watch list provided they are returning.
2021 Indoor All-Americans
Chengetayi (Du) Mapaya - First-Team - Triple Jump
Robert Gregory Jr. - Second-Team - 200m
Tinotenda Matiyenga - Second-Team - 200m
Returning Outdoor All-Americans
Destiny Longmire - First-Team - Long Jump
Chengetayi (Du) Mapaya- First-Team - Triple Jump
Derrick Mokaleng - Second-Team - 400m
Andrews, Bender, Matiyenga and Mokaleng - Second-Team - 4x400
Players Mentioned
