Not many alumnae have the ability to say that they earned a TCU degree and a National Championship within weeks of one another. Whitney Gipson, however, is different.

Last night, Gipson took home a National Championship in the women’s long jump with a jump of 22 feet 4 and a half inches at the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The win came only weeks after Gipson graduated from the university with a degree in communications.

“It means a great deal,” Gipson said. “I told my coaches that I wanted to end my TCU career with a bang. I wanted to represent TCU well on my last chance.”

Gipson said she was confident going into the competition, but was focused on having a better showing than she did at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in March.

Gipson won the indoor women’s long jump, tying the collegiate record and the best indoor mark of the year.

Gipson is the only female athlete in TCU history to win an outdoor crown, and is the second athlete in history to win both an indoor and outdoor crown. She is also the first to ever win back-to-back championships in the program’s history.

Next on the itinerary for the athlete is a trip to Eugene for an attempt at a spot on the United States Olympic team.

Gipson said she will focus on going in consistent, working on her run and her placement on the board.

“It only takes one jump, and you want to try to get that far jump early in the meet,” Gipson said.

Gipson said she will truly miss the people and the relationships that she’s built at TCU the most.

“I’m just very blessed to have the opportunity at a great university and to be able to leave my mark here at TCU,” Gipson said.