Quanesha Burks remembers her first trip to Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., for the 2014 NCAA Track and Field Championships as a true freshman. As she looked around the stadium nicknamed “TrackTown USA,” she noticed posters of previous national champions returning to defend their titles. As an aspiring elite long jumper, Burks first noticed the poster featuring TCU's Lorraine Ugen, the defending national champion in the event.
“I always remember looking those and just thinking, ‘I want to be on that poster,’” Burks said.
When Burks returns to Hayward Field on today for her third appearance at nationals, she’ll finally be able to see herself on one of those posters as she competes to defend her national title in the women’s long jump.
As a sophomore last year, Burks went undefeated in the long jump for the entire season on her way to a national championship in the event. She has followed up her first title with an equally impressive junior season in which she has again gone unbeaten in the long jump and retained her crown as SEC champion.
So much has changed for Burks since that first trip to Eugene in 2014 as she has gone from a relative unknown in the collegiate track circuit to one of the most dominant forces in any event in the sport.
“It’s all happened really soon, at least sooner than I thought,” Burks said. “My sophomore year a lot started happening faster than I ever thought it would.”
With two national championship appearances and one title under her belt already, Burks feels like she has a better idea of what it will take to win in this competition as compared to previous years. Assistant coach Miguel Pate also sees her mental edge as an advantage.
“She’s probably a step ahead (from last season) more mentally than physically,” Pate said. “She’s been there before and done this already so we already know what to expect, and we expect to win.”
Considering her dominance over the last two years, the temptation of complacency is something Burks has to constantly fight off to continue to better herself. Her main motivation in staving off satisfaction is constantly competing against herself more so than her fellow competitors.
“I’m my own competition and if I go out and do what I’m supposed to do and what I’ve been doing, I’ll be fine,” Burks said. “It’s more about what I can bring and what I can do that day.”
While winning a second consecutive title in Eugene might be the primary goal for Burks, it isn’t the only aspiration she’ll be working toward. According to her coach, she also has her eyes set on rewriting the record books by becoming the first female in NCAA history to reach seven meters in the long jump. The current collegiate record is 6.99 meters.
“If she could hit the seven-meter mark, she’d be best long jumper ever in college, so that’s her goal,” Pate said.
NCAA Championships will mark the end of the collegiate year for Burks, but it doesn’t mean she’ll be slowing down once she’s done competing in Eugene. Instead, Burks will continue to prepare for a return to trip to Hayward Field for the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she will compete for a spot on Team USA for this summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
