Tiffany Townsend (2008-11) Was 17-Time All-American Sprinter
3/19/2021 10:01:00 AM | Track & Field
Tiffany Townsend (2008-11) Was 17-Time All-American Sprinter
(This is the 21st in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. Through April 1, two honorees per week will be released and will also be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Looking back a decade later, Michael Ford wonders if he might have run Tiffany Townsend too much in a four-year Baylor career that saw her earn a school-record 17 All-America honors.
"She was just a hard worker, very dedicated, very coachable. Pretty much did anything I asked her to do," said Ford, who recruited Townsend out of Killeen. "She was just so versatile, where she could obviously run the 100 and 200, but also help you on the 4x400 relay, help you on the 4x100. She just had this inner drive to be the best every time she ran. And that's what she did."
And she did it better at Baylor than anyone before or since. She earned twice as many individual All-America honors (12) as anyone else in the program and still holds school records in the 60 (7.23) and 200 meters (22.90) indoors and 100 meters (11.09) and 4x100 relay (43.60) outdoors.
"I think that's how I got to be where I was when it came to getting into Baylor and doing well at Baylor," Townsend said of her consistency. "I think it's just something I tried to keep throughout the whole thing. Even after I turned professional, I always felt like if I'm consistent, good things will happen, times will drop, things will come."
Setting the Texas high school meet records in both the 100 (11.21) and 200 (22.84) running for Killeen High School, Townsend was ranked No. 1 in the nation and had her pick of colleges. But, she decided on the one just up the road in Waco.
"I think the thing that helped us was Jacob Norman, who ended up being the national champion (60 meters) for us his freshman year, they had the same club coach in the Killeen area, Bill Collins," Ford said.
"Bill called and was like, 'Hey Mike, I've got this young lady that's going to be pretty good. If you're interested, let me know.' . . . We built a really good relationship, and she wanted to go to a school that had more of the one-on-one coaching and wanted to be a little closer to home, because she was really close to her mom and her mom was still in Killeen."
Making an immediate impact as a freshman, she earned All-America honors in the 200 meters at the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets and also ran legs on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays that finished third and fourth, respectively, at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Saving her best for last, Townsend broke her own school records in finishing sixth in the 60 and third in the 200 meters at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station and then added a third-place finish outdoors in the 200 with a then-school-record time of 22.58. It seems like her name is forever etched in the Baylor record books with her holding at least six of the top 10 times in the 60 and 200 indoors and 100 and 200 outdoors.
"I think my best memories would have to be being with my teammates, the camaraderie," she said. "Track is a very individual sport in the sense that it's you out there running. But, I couldn't have done a lot of things without my teammates. Just when it's raining and pouring outside or it may be cold, you know you have someone in your corner who's rooting for you always."
While running on the 4x400 relay might have been stretching her capabilities, Townsend admits that she loves "the fact that I got to participate in something that is so deeply rooted in Baylor track and field tradition."
"I'm not going to say I was happy all the time running on it," she said, "but it was definitely a great experience to run on the 4x4."
Following her Baylor career, Townsend signed a sponsorship deal with adidas and made her professional debut with a sixth-place finish in the 200 at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. One of the highlights of her professional career came in 2013, when she was ranked third in the world with a PR time of 22.26 in the 200.
In 2017, she ran on the 4x200 relay that earned a bronze medal at the IAAF World Relays. Since giving birth to her first child, Bella, in August 2019, the 31-year-old Townsend has hung up her track cleats . . . at least for now.
"I think she's got a little bit of an itch to start running again," said Ford, who is Bella's godfather, "but I think she's having fun trying to keep up with that baby. She's just being a mom right now."
Previous Honorees:
Odyssey Sims, Women's Basketball (2010-14)
Kelly Shoppach, Baseball (1999-2001)
Daniel Sepulveda, Football (2002-06)
Brette Reagan, Softball (2006-09)
Yossiana Pressley, Volleyball (2017-21)
Kiara Nowlin, Acrobatics & Tumbling (2013-17)
Johnathan Motley, Men's Basketball (2013-17)
Shea Langeliers, Baseball (2017-19)
Bayano Kamani, Men's T&F (1998-2001)
Jason Jennings, Baseball (1997-99)
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)
(This is the 21st in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. Through April 1, two honorees per week will be released and will also be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Looking back a decade later, Michael Ford wonders if he might have run Tiffany Townsend too much in a four-year Baylor career that saw her earn a school-record 17 All-America honors.
"She was just a hard worker, very dedicated, very coachable. Pretty much did anything I asked her to do," said Ford, who recruited Townsend out of Killeen. "She was just so versatile, where she could obviously run the 100 and 200, but also help you on the 4x400 relay, help you on the 4x100. She just had this inner drive to be the best every time she ran. And that's what she did."
And she did it better at Baylor than anyone before or since. She earned twice as many individual All-America honors (12) as anyone else in the program and still holds school records in the 60 (7.23) and 200 meters (22.90) indoors and 100 meters (11.09) and 4x100 relay (43.60) outdoors.
"I think that's how I got to be where I was when it came to getting into Baylor and doing well at Baylor," Townsend said of her consistency. "I think it's just something I tried to keep throughout the whole thing. Even after I turned professional, I always felt like if I'm consistent, good things will happen, times will drop, things will come."
Setting the Texas high school meet records in both the 100 (11.21) and 200 (22.84) running for Killeen High School, Townsend was ranked No. 1 in the nation and had her pick of colleges. But, she decided on the one just up the road in Waco.
"I think the thing that helped us was Jacob Norman, who ended up being the national champion (60 meters) for us his freshman year, they had the same club coach in the Killeen area, Bill Collins," Ford said.
"Bill called and was like, 'Hey Mike, I've got this young lady that's going to be pretty good. If you're interested, let me know.' . . . We built a really good relationship, and she wanted to go to a school that had more of the one-on-one coaching and wanted to be a little closer to home, because she was really close to her mom and her mom was still in Killeen."
Making an immediate impact as a freshman, she earned All-America honors in the 200 meters at the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets and also ran legs on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays that finished third and fourth, respectively, at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Saving her best for last, Townsend broke her own school records in finishing sixth in the 60 and third in the 200 meters at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station and then added a third-place finish outdoors in the 200 with a then-school-record time of 22.58. It seems like her name is forever etched in the Baylor record books with her holding at least six of the top 10 times in the 60 and 200 indoors and 100 and 200 outdoors.
"I think my best memories would have to be being with my teammates, the camaraderie," she said. "Track is a very individual sport in the sense that it's you out there running. But, I couldn't have done a lot of things without my teammates. Just when it's raining and pouring outside or it may be cold, you know you have someone in your corner who's rooting for you always."
While running on the 4x400 relay might have been stretching her capabilities, Townsend admits that she loves "the fact that I got to participate in something that is so deeply rooted in Baylor track and field tradition."
"I'm not going to say I was happy all the time running on it," she said, "but it was definitely a great experience to run on the 4x4."
Following her Baylor career, Townsend signed a sponsorship deal with adidas and made her professional debut with a sixth-place finish in the 200 at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. One of the highlights of her professional career came in 2013, when she was ranked third in the world with a PR time of 22.26 in the 200.
In 2017, she ran on the 4x200 relay that earned a bronze medal at the IAAF World Relays. Since giving birth to her first child, Bella, in August 2019, the 31-year-old Townsend has hung up her track cleats . . . at least for now.
"I think she's got a little bit of an itch to start running again," said Ford, who is Bella's godfather, "but I think she's having fun trying to keep up with that baby. She's just being a mom right now."
Previous Honorees:
Odyssey Sims, Women's Basketball (2010-14)
Kelly Shoppach, Baseball (1999-2001)
Daniel Sepulveda, Football (2002-06)
Brette Reagan, Softball (2006-09)
Yossiana Pressley, Volleyball (2017-21)
Kiara Nowlin, Acrobatics & Tumbling (2013-17)
Johnathan Motley, Men's Basketball (2013-17)
Shea Langeliers, Baseball (2017-19)
Bayano Kamani, Men's T&F (1998-2001)
Jason Jennings, Baseball (1997-99)
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)
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