NORMAN — Tia Brooks didn’t just win another NCAA championship at Saturday’s indoor title meet in Fayetteville, Ark. The Oklahoma senior smashed the NCAA record with a personal-best throw of 63-0.75.
Brooks, an Olympian at the London Games last summer, had the best throw in NCAA competition since North Carolina's Laura Gerraughty threw 62-10.0 in 2004.
Brooks not only passed her own program-record throw of 62-4.00 set at last year’s NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, she also became the first woman in NCAA history to break the 63-foot barrier.
It marked the third-straight NCAA crown for Brooks in the shot put, counting last year’s indoor and outdoor titles.
Additionally, Claire McConnell finished 13th place in the women’s pentathlon with a score of 3,916 points in her NCAA Championship debut. She ran an 8.68 in the 60-meter hurdles, had a shot put throw of 37-0.25, cleared 5-6.50 in the high jump, leapt 18-6.00 in the long jump and finished at 2:26.25 in the 800-meter run.
The outdoor season begins Friday at the TCU Duals, followed by Saturday’s Tulsa Duals.
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