In anticipation for the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame this October, GoColumbiaLions.com is taking a look at the teams, student-athletes, coaches and staff members that are set to be inducted. Our next installment features an athlete that found her stride at Barnard.
Ylonka Doubout-Willis '84BC
Ylonka Wills first arrived to Barnard College in 1980, creating a legacy for herself that would live on long past her graduation in 1984.
Wills began her cross country career by walking onto the team at Barnard. Although she had never run competitively before college, Wills found herself finishing 90th at the NCAA East Qualifier in her first ever year of competitive running.
Before returning in 1981 for her sophomore season, Wills was struck by an African amoeba. After eight short weeks after recovering, she managed to qualify for her first national championship in only her second year on the course.
Wills concluded her sophomore year season with a 14th place finish at the Ivy League Championships, and later came through as the fifth fastest Ivy League runner at the AIC Nationals and the third fastest among Division III schools.
As a junior in 1982, Wills returned to Barnard's cross country team as the top runner, clocking in nearly 70 seconds faster than her closest teammate. She went on to have a spectacular season with first place finishes at Stony Brook, Seven Sisters Invitational, Hartwick and Army.
Wills managed to break four separate course records shattering, each one by over 30 seconds, while breaking a regional record by 40 seconds. Wills continued to put her name atop the record books, as she went on to become Barnard's first ever All-American in track or cross country with a fourth place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships.
Her senior season of 1983 was the first official year Barnard College and Columbia University athletes competed on the same teams. Wills went on to defend her title at the Seven Sisters Invitational, where she not only finished the race almost two full minutes ahead of the second place finisher, but also set a new course record for the third consecutive week. She also captured a first place finish at the season opener against Drew University and William Patterson College.
Wills went on to spend the spring semester of her senior year in France where she set the French national record in the 5K run.
During her time on Morningside Heights, Wills broke both the 3,000m and 5,000m records, which she held until 2002, when her 5K time of 16:42.14 was finally broken. Wills' astounding 3K school record time of 9:30.14 from 1983 was not broken until 2014, standing for 31 years.
