This is the 6^th in a series profiling this year's inductees for the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame and Wall of Honor, which will be posted every week at baylorbears.com.
 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
Even after setting the Texas state high school records in the 100 and 200 meters at Killeen High School and recording the fastest prep times in the nation in 2007, Tiffany Townsend knew what she was getting into when she came to Baylor and Quartermiler U.
 
While she trained under sprint coach Michael Ford, now the Baylor head coach, "Coach (Clyde) Hart, for sure, had his hand in the pot," said Townsend, a 17-time All-American and part of the Baylor Athletics 2023 Hall of Fame class that will be inducted Nov. 3. 
 
"Mainly it was Coach Ford, but Coach Hart was right there," Townsend said of the legendary coach that she joins in the Baylor Hall of Fame. "As you can see, I ran plenty of 4x400s. I'm pretty sure they collaborated on a lot."
 
Born in Lake City, Fla., Townsend said she ran track as a high school freshman in Florida, "but I just kind of did it just to do it." 
 
"I didn't grow up in Killeen," she said, "but that's where, for me, everything track and field started. It wasn't until going to Killeen and meeting with my then-coach, Coach (Bill) Collins, that kind of propelled me into everything track."
 
Townsend was part of the Killeen Blaze track program run by Collins and Robert Griffin Jr., now more commonly known as the father of 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. 
 
"That was my official introduction into track, to be honest," said Townsend, who swept the 100 and 200 meters at the 2007 UIL state track and field meet, finishing fifth in the team standings by herself. "I saw a young Robert, and we've been great friends ever since. He's an amazing athlete."
 
Although she visited several other schools as one of the nation's top prospects, Townsend said she "fell in love with Baylor" on her official visit. 
 
"It just felt like home for me," she said. "It felt like somewhere where I could grow spiritually. It was the one visit that I went on that everything wasn't blown out of proportion. It seemed genuine. I felt like it showed me what it really was. And that's what sold me."
 
Her school-record All-American haul started as a freshman, when Townsend was eighth in the 100 meters and ran legs on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays that placed third and fourth, respectively, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. 
 
What made the 4x400-meter relay even tougher was that "back then, we had a lot more rounds than they do now," Townsend said. "Now, they have a day of break in between, where the guys go and then the girls go. Back then, it was hard. To be honest, I think about it sometimes, how did I even get through the rounds?'''
 
Townsend admits that she had to "turn on something else in my brain" when she was called on to run a 400-meter leg. 
 
"I had my teammates there. And I knew that getting on the line with them would push me even further. Even I had nothing left, I knew they were counting on me and that I could help. So, I would say, 'Hey, let's just do it.'''
 
Going into her senior year, Ford told her, "It's your time now." While she didn't completely give up the relays, Townsend turned more of her focus to the individual races, finishing third in the 200 in both the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor Championships and adding podium finishes in the indoor 60 meters (6^th) and outdoor 100 meters (8^th). 
 
"I told him that I didn't want to give up on the relays," she said. "I just wanted to dial in and focus on my individual races. And that's what we did. The coaches were able to move things around to where maybe, sometimes, I didn't have to run the prelims in the relays. And that helped tremendously."
 
When record-setting hurdler Tiffani McReynolds joined the team for the 2009-10 season, it became "The Tiffany Show." They were the Co-Athletes of the Decade on Baylor track and field's all-decade team for 2010-19. 
 
With the diminutive Tiffani McReynolds checking in at 5-feet even, the 5-6 Tiffany Townsend became "Big Tiff" to McReynolds' "Little Tiff."
 
"I just took it as 'Okay, I'm the older one,''' Townsend said. "She came in and she was amazing, of course. I loved everything about that experience with me and her. I just wish we could have been on the team longer together, to be honest."
 
In her final collegiate race, Townsend finished third in the outdoor 200 meters with a school-record time of 22.58 that ranked as the fourth-fastest time in the world at that point. 
 
"I ran the fastest I've ran ever, so I'm not disappointed," said Townsend, who still holds the school record in the indoor 60 meters (7.23 seconds). "Of course, I wish I could have won, but there's a time and place for everything. And it just wasn't my time, but I'm happy with it."
 
Townsend's 17 All-America honors are two more than men's record-holder Tony Miller and eight more than the closest female – Stacey Bowers Smith, Jennifer Jordan, Yulanda Nelson and Barbara Petrahn with nine apiece. 
 
But somehow, she was still surprised when the Hall of Fame call came from Walter Abercrombie, Baylor's Associate AD for the Bear Foundation. 
 
"I wasn't expecting it at all, actually," she said. "I knew about it. Me and Coach Ford had talked about it a couple times. I just didn't know if I would be up so soon because I know that you have to wait 10 years. It was definitely something on my radar, I just wasn't expecting it right then."
 
Sponsored by Adidas, Townsend ran professionally until 2019, when she also became a mom. Her daughter, Zoe, is now 4 years old. 
 
"(Being a mom) is the greatest thing that's ever happened in my life," said Townsend, a loan signing agent based in Miami. "I guess maybe I didn't expect to be alone so much, but it's amazing. It's just the best thing ever."
 
Joining Townsend in this year's Hall of Fame class are fellow track and field athletes Stan Curry and Sandy Forsythe Massey, football's J.D. Walton and Ken Quesenberry, baseball's Max Muncy, tennis All-American Denes Lukacs and longtime men's basketball radio and TV analyst Pat Nunley. 
 
"I've been back a few times since things started booming in Waco," she said, "and I enjoy it every time. But it's going to be amazing. I'm excited to see some of my old college teammates that are coming with me to celebrate. I'm also excited to share some memories with my family so that they can see the fruits of their labor as well."
 
Tickets to the Nov. 3 banquet at Baylor's Cashion Building Banquet Room are $50 per person, with table sponsorships also available at the green ($600) and gold ($800) levels, and can be purchased by contacting the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at tammy_hardin@baylor.edu.