Western Kentucky will retire the jersey of former track and field standout Gayle Harris Watkins on Saturday during the Brent Chumbley Memorial Hilltopper Relays.

The ceremony for the two-time AIAW All-American will take place at 11:45 a.m. at the Charles M. Ruter Track and Field Complex.

One of the most renowned athletes in WKU track and field history, Harris Watkins came to Western Kentucky from nearby Franklin-Simpson High School and lettered four years (1976-80) for the Lady Toppers, earning a reputation as one of the nation’s top hurdlers.

She set a Western record in the hurdles that still stands — 7.82 seconds in the indoor 55 meters in 1980. Her time of 13.6 seconds in the 100-meter dash in the outdoors was a school record at the time, too. She was a two-time AIAW All-American as a senior in 1979, finishing runner up in the long jump (19 feet, 8 inches) and the 60-meter hurdles.

Following her graduation in 1979, Watkins remained a prominent figure on the world track scene, competing around the globe and earning berths at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1980, ’84 (where she was a finalist) and ’88. Watkins was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world in the indoor 50-meter hurdles in 1983 and she was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the long jump (with a leap of 20-10.75) for a period of time in 1979.

A charter member of the WKU Track Hall of Fame, she is the daughter of the late Doug and Lorene Harris. Watkins and her husband James have two adult children, daughter Tanyita (also a WKU alumnus and a former Lady Topper track athlete) and son Ricardo, along with a granddaughter (Tyiona, who played basketball at the University of Washington). Watkins earned her Ph.D. in higher education administration at Claremont Graduate University.