Former Lady Vol track and field athlete Delisa Walton has been selected for induction into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame, as announced by the association on Tuesday. Walton is part of the Class of 2026.
Walton competed for Tennessee from 1980 to 1983 and was recognized as a mid-distance runner. During her time with the Lady Vols, she earned All-American honors 12 times and won nine national championships. She contributed significantly to Tennessee’s first team national title at the AIAW Outdoor Championships in 1981, earning 13 points through a second-place finish in the 800 meters and participating in championship teams for both the sprint medley relay and the 4×400-meter relay.
Her collegiate career included individual titles such as her freshman win in the outdoor 800-meter AIAW event in 1980 with a time of 2:04.88. In subsequent years, she collected additional indoor and outdoor titles across various distances and relays, including three consecutive indoor 600-yard crowns.
Walton continues to hold school records at Tennessee in several events: indoor 600-yard (1:17.38), indoor 600-meter (1:26.56), and indoor 880-yard (2:03.10).
After college, Walton represented Team USA at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, where she finished fifth in the women’s 800 meters final with a personal best of 1:57.80.
With this honor, Walton joins other notable former Lady Vols Joetta Clark and Benita Fitzgerald in being inducted into the USTFCCCA Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame, which began recognizing athletes in this way starting in 2022.
