Tennessee sprinter Christian Coleman dominated the NCAA Indoor Track Meet in College Station over the weekend.
Coleman, a junior, won both the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. He’s the first sprinter to win an NCAA title in both events since former Vol Justin Gatlin.
In the 60 meters, Coleman tied the collegiate record, running a time of 6.45. His winning margin of .09 is the largest in NCAA Championship history. Coleman’s time of 20.11 in the 200 places him second all-time in NCAA history.
“I was just trying to execute everything I’ve worked on with my coaches the past few weeks,” Coleman said after his first race.
Despite tying the collegiate record, Coleman wasn’t totally content with his performance.
“Obviously it’s pretty good, but I’m never satisfied.”
🚨 WARNING 🔥🔥🔥 SPEED 🚨
Christian Coleman ties the Collegiate Record with 6:45 60m.
Breaks #ncaaTF meet record & facility record. pic.twitter.com/uKNTZhrBoF
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) March 11, 2017
Coleman won the 200 meter at last year’s meet in Birmingham, and followed that up with second place performances in the 100 and 200 at the outdoor championships in June. Over the summer, Coleman was a part of the US Olympic Team as a member of the 4×100 meter relay.
Coleman knew that scoring twenty points, winning both events, was his goal coming in. But his winning time in the 200 surprised him a bit.
“I wasn’t expecting that, I was just trying to drop a fast time,” Coleman said.
Tennessee’s track team is back on the map, due in large part to Coleman. The Atlanta native scored all of UT’s points at the meet, placing the Vols tenth in the country. At the 2016 meet, UT was third overall led by Coleman’s All-American performance.
UT now has five national titles in the short sprint at the NCAA meet, tied for most all-time. Past winners include Vol legends Sam Graddy, Willy Gault and Justin Gatlin.
