Women’s Watch for The Bowerman Shifts After Outdoor Conference Championships
May 19, 2011 Share
NEW ORLEANS – The women’s watch list for The Bowerman witnessed seismic shifts after a weekend full of outdoor conference-championships drama. The Women’s Watch List Committee announced the list of ten on Thursday. Colorado’s Emma Coburn was added to the watch list for the first time this season while Nia Ali (Southern California), Brigetta Barrett (Arizona), Semoy Hackett (LSU), and Jeneba Tarmoh (Texas A&M) where promoted from the “mention” list to the prestigious watch list.
Hackett and Tarmoh began the season on the award’s preseason watch list. Ali and Barrett are making their first-ever appearance on the watch.
The Bowerman Advisory Board appointed four of its members to comprise The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee and another four of its members to make up The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee. The Women’s Watch Committee will release their next update on Thursday, June 2. The ten semifinalists will be named on Monday, June 21, and the three finalists will be named on Thursday, July 14.
THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST, 2011 WOMEN
(updated May 19, 2011, listed in alphabetical order, always ten names)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Nia Ali (P) | SR | Southern California | Hurdles/Jumps | Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Brigetta Barrett (P) | SO | Arizona | Jumps | Duncanville, Texas |
| Jessica Beard | SR | Texas A&M | Sprints | Euclid, Ohio |
| Emma Coburn (N) | JR | Colorado | Distance | Crested Butte, Colo. |
| Kimberlyn Duncan | SO | LSU | Sprints | Katy, Texas |
| Semoy Hackett (P2) | JR | LSU | Sprints | Scarborough, Trinidad & Tobago |
| Jordan Hasay | SO | Oregon | Distance | Arroyo Grande, Calif. |
| Tina Sutej | JR | Arkansas | Pole Vault | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Jeneba Tarmoh (P2) | JR | Texas A&M | Sprints | San Jose, Calif. |
| Kim Williams | SR | Florida State | Jumps | Kingston, Jamaica |
(P) – Promoted from “receiving mention” list this update
(N) – New to either list this update
Nia Ali, Southern California
Senior, Hurdles/Jumps, Philadephia, Pa. (West Catholic HS)
OUTDOOR: Redshirt senior Nia Ali has focused on the hurdles her final season competing at USC, after beginning her career as a heptathlete and redshirting last season. This season, she has run the top wind-legal 100-meter hurdle outdoor time (12.77) in winning the event at the Pac-10 Championships which ranks second all-time at USC to NCAA record-holder Virginia Powell (Crawford). Ali also ran a wind-aided 12.74 to take runner-up honors at the Texas Relays which is tied for the NCAA-leading seed time. After winning Pac-10 hurdle title, competed in the high jump on the same day for the second time this season and cleared 6-1¼ (1.86m) to take second, move into second place on USC’s all-time list and place her in a tie for second on the national list.
INDOOR: Had the third-fastest 60-meter hurdle indoor time entering the NCAA Indoor Championships, but pulled up in the semifinals.
Brigetta Barrett, Arizona
Sophomore, Jumps, Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville HS)
OUTDOOR: At the Pac-10 Championships, Barrett cleared a career-best 1.93m (6-4) on her third attempt in the high jump to move into a tie for the fourth-best jump in Arizona’s prestigious high jump history with Olympian Erin Aldirch. The mark currently ranks second in the world in 2011 and is the NCAA-leading mark by nearly three inches. Barrett has also tallied victories at the Mt. SAC Relays and Texas Relays on the season. Barrett has competed in 10 high jump competitions in 2011, including the indoor and outdoor seasons, losing only one of them – on misses – and has maintained the NCAA-leading mark for the entirety of the current outdoor season.
INDOOR: NCAA indoor champion with a jump of 1.90m (6-2¾), the first NCAA crown of her career and the third All-American honor in as many chances for the sophomore. Barrett finished the indoor season as the 11th-ranked individual in the world in the event with a best clearance of 1.92m (6-3½) while defending her title at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships.
Jessica Beard, Texas A&M
Senior, Sprints, Euclid, Ohio (Euclid HS)
OUTDOOR: Opened the season with a win at the LSU Invitational 400-meter dash in a now-tied, collegiate-leading time of 51.55, taking victory by over a second-and-a-half. At the Big 12 Championships, Beard ran the second leg of the Texas A&M’s conference-champion 4×400 relay (3:31.28). Beard finished runner-up in the conference’s 400 (51.68), thwarted of a complete indoor-outdoor, four-year sweep of the event as Kansas frosh Diamond Dixon (51.55) caught Beard in the final few steps.
Beard has been on Texas A&M’s winning 4×100 and 4×400 teams at the Texas Relays and the winning 4×200 and 4×400 teams at the Penn Relays.
INDOOR: Beard made the Aggie faithful stand up and cheer for her performances at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In the 400 meters, Beard would twice record the best collegiate-mark of the year with a 51.64 clocking in the preliminaries and would top it with a 50.79 world-leading time in winning the national crown. Beard would win the event by more than 1½ seconds for Texas A&M’s first women’s individual national indoor crown in school history. With the time, Beard moved to third all-time on the American indoor list and second all-time collegiately.
Beard also anchored the 4×400 team to their second national crown in three years with a 51.08 split, leading Texas A&M to a 3:29.72 clocking, the best in the NCAA this year and the eighth-best all-time.
Also during the indoor season, Beard won an unprecedented fourth-straight indoor Big 12 title at 400. Beard was named Big 12 Performer of the Year as she also scored second-place honors in the 200 meters at the conference meet and anchored the Aggies to a fifth-straight crown in the 4×400. Her season’s best 200 time of 22.95 ranked sixth in the NCAA. Beard finished the 2011 indoor season undefeated in the 400 meters.
Emma Coburn, Colorado
Junior, Distance, Crested Butte, Colo. (Crested Butte HS)
OUTDOOR: Coburn leads the nation in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal best of 9:40.51, which she ran at the Payton Jordan Stanford Invitational. Coburn became the 11th fastest American all-time in the event with the run. She was honored as the USATF Athlete of the Week as well as the Big 12 Athlete of the Week for the effort. At the time, the 9:40.51 was the fastest in the world and now ranks sixth. This past weekend she won her second Big 12 steeplechase crown with the meet’s second-fastest all-time mark of 9:57.39.
She was also successful in the 1,500 and ran a personal best of 4:14.35 at Mt. SAC. That time ranks sixth in the NCAA and is the eighth fastest time in CU history.
INDOOR: Coburn won the indoor Big 12 3,000-meter run in 9:17.46, the ninth fastest time ever by a Buffalo. She did so in the unseeded heat as she did not have a seed time heading into the meet. Coburn was a part of the CU DMR team that recorded a school record and a fourth-place finish the previous night at the league meet as the anchor leg. The time of 11:22.87 broke a 12-year old record (11:23.34).
Her top event was the mile run. She ranks second on CU’s all-time list and has three of the top four times. Her PR of 4:36.08 was set at the NCAA Championship where she placed eighth overall to earn her first indoor All-American honor.
Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU
Sophomore, Sprints, Katy, Texas (Cypress Springs HS)
OUTDOOR: Holds the NCAA’s No. 1 seed in the 200-meter dash with a wind-aided season-best clocking of 22.18 (w: 3.2) set at LSU’s Alumni Gold meet. The time is the best all-conditions time in the collegiate ranks since 1989 and third all-time. Ranks in the NCAA’s top three with wind-aided best from the SEC Championships of 11.02 in the 100 meters. Wind-legal season best of 22.76 in the 200 meters ranks third in the world. Member of LSU’s winning sprint medley relay at the Penn Relays.
At the SEC Championships, Duncan claimed conference titles in the 200 and as part of LSU’s 4×100 relay.
INDOOR: The NCAA Indoor 200-meter champion won four-straight 200-meter finals during the season, dating back to her win at the Tyson Invitational during the indoor season on Feb. 12. After setting an indoor personal record of 22.78 in winning her first career Southeastern Conference title at the SEC Indoor Championships, Duncan became the first Lady Tiger since 2004 to take home the NCAA Indoor crown in the event with her run of 22.85 at the national meet. In fact, her indoor PR of 22.78 is the world’s fastest indoor 200-meter time in three years since former Texas star Bianca Knight set the American indoor record of 22.40 at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Semoy Hackett, LSU
Junior, Sprints, Scarborough, Trinidad & Tobago (Bishop’s HS/Lincoln (Mo.))
OUTDOOR: Hackett won SEC titles in the 100 meters (11.17) and with LSU’s 4×100 relay (43.47). Hackett added a runner-up showing in the 200 (22.41w) and was third with the 4×400 relay (3:35.15). With runner-up showing at the Texas Relays 100-meter dash, Hackett clocked a wind-aided 10.98 (2.9 m/s) to capture the NCAA’s second-fastest seed in the event. Hackett will also enter the NCAA Championships as the second overall seed in the 200 meters with the time captured at the SEC meet.
Hackett was the winner of the 100-meter dash at the Penn Relays and was on LSU’s winning sprint medley. Hackett also on the LSU 4×200 team that won a Texas Relays title and finished second in the 4×100.
INDOOR: In her first season as a Division I participant, Hackett placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200 meters (23.21) and eighth in the 60 (7.29). In the 60-meter preliminaries, Hackett clocked a personal best of 7.22.
During the season, Hackett achieved marks in the 60 and 200 that finished among the nation’s top seven in both events. Hackett finished runner-up in the SEC in both the 60 and 200.
Jordan Hasay, Oregon
Sophomore, Distance, Arroyo Grande, Calif. (Mission College Prep)
OUTDOOR: Hasay won Pac-10 titles in the 1500 (4:19.18) and 5000 (16:24.10). Hasay also leads the nation in the 1500 meters with a 4:10.28 clocking at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Currently also sits second in the nation in the 5000 meters with a season best of 15:37.29 set at the Mt. SAC Relays.
INDOOR: Hasay would lead Oregon to a national team title with a meet-high 22 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships, scoring individual national crowns in the mile and 3000 meters and as anchor of the Ducks’ runner-up DMR squad. Hasay became the fifth overall and first to win the national mile-3k double since Northern Arizona’s Johanna Nilsson in 2006. Hasay won the mile at the NCAA Championships in a personal-best 4:33.01, a mark that is among the all-time top ten of American collegians. In the 3000, Hasay outlasted Villanova’s Sheila Reid with a 9:13.71 run to avenge a previous head-to-head loss to Reid in the DMR the night before.
Hasay clocked a 9:05.42 season’s best in the 3000 at the UW Invitational in January. Hasay was also the mile champ at the MPSF Championships. Hasay was selected by the nation’s coaches as the USTFCCCA National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year.
Tina Sutej, Arkansas
Junior, Pole Vault, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Gimnazija Bezigrad)
OUTDOOR: Now holds claim to both indoor and outdoor collegiate records in the pole vault after winning the SEC title by over 15 inches with a clearance of 15-1½ (4.61m). Between both indoor and outdoor season, Sutej has been undefeated in 13 tries. In the outdoor season, Sutej has had winning clearances of more than 14-6 (4.42m) four times, making nine total for the entire year. Winner of the Penn Relays vault title with mark of 14-7¼ (4.45m).
INDOOR: Sutej topped the collegiate record in the pole vault with a clearance of 14-10¾ (4.54m) in winning the SEC title in the event. Sutej broke the 2002 record of Amy Linnen Undoubtedly the most consistent in the vault during the indoor season season, Sutej cleared more than 14-6 (4.42m) five times this season and won seven-straight events. In addition, Sutej won the national crown in the event, becoming the first from Arkansas to win an indoor NCAA pole vault title as the only to clear 14-7¼ (4.45m) at the national meet.
Jeneba Tarmoh, Texas A&M
Junior, Sprints, San Jose, Calif. (Mt. Pleasant HS/Tennessee)
OUTDOOR: Jeneba Tarmoh repeated her triple victory at the Big 12 Championships, earning high point honors for the second consecutive year with 22½ points off a 100-200 sprint double while also running the second leg of the winning 4 x 100 relay. Tarmoh, who has a season best of 10.94w in winning the Texas Relays 100, recorded a career best of 22.46 for her victory at the Big 12 Outdoor meet. Tarmoh broke a 29-year-old stadium record set by Merlene Ottey (Nebraska) at Oklahoma’s John Jacobs Stadium.
Tarmoh has been the second leg of the Aggies 4 x 100 relay, which claimed victories at San Diego State, Arizona State, LSU, Texas Relays, and Penn Relays prior to winning the conference meet. Texas A&M holds the collegiate leading time of 42.87 from their Texas Relays victory. In the 4 x 200 relay Tarmoh was the lead-off leg for the Aggies when they set a collegiate leading time of 1:29.96 to win the Penn Relays title, recording the third fastest collegiate mark ever.
In the 4×400 Tarmoh also had first leg duties when the Aggies claimed its first-ever Texas Relays title in the event with a school record, and collegiate leading, 3:27.33.
INDOOR: Tarmoh won the Big 12 200 title in a personal indoor best of 22.88 and matched that time in earning NCAA Indoor silver. Tarmoh set a meet record of 22.98 to win the 200 at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Tarmoh ran a personal best of 7.24 in the 60 meters, as runner-up in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. She placed second in the 60 with a 7.29 at the Big 12 Indoor meet.
Ran opening leg of 4 x 400 as Texas A&M set a Big 12 meet record in winning with a 3:32.85, then was part of the relay effort that set a school record of 3:29.72 in winning the NCAA Indoor championship.
Kim Williams, Florida State
Senior, Jumps, Kingston, Jamaica (Vere Technical HS)
OUTDOOR: Won ACC titles in the long and triple jumps, sweeping both events for the third time at the conference meet. In addition, the triple jump title was won by Williams in each of her four years, indoor and outdoor in the league. Leads the nation in the triple jump with wind-aided triple jump mark of 46-9 (14.25m), set in winning the Texas Relays.
INDOOR: Williams became the first in NCAA D-I women’s history to win the national title in the triple jump for a third time. Williams in the 2011 version, used a 45-9¾ (13.96m) mark on her final attempt to post the best mark among all collegians for the season. However, it was not easy as Williams posted fouls on her first two attempts in the competition, but notched a 43-1¾ (13.15m) in round three to secure a spot in the event’s finals. In addition, Williams placed second in the long jump at the NCAA Championships.
Williams also netted impressive performances in both long and triple jumps at the ACC Championships. In becoming the first in ACC Championship history to win an event for a fourth time, Williams triple jumped to a collegiate-leading mark of 45-9¾ (13.96m). In addition, the previous day, Williams won the ACC long jump title with a leap of 21-6 (6.55m) – a performance that finished the season ranked No. 2 in the NCAA for the indoor season.
ALSO RECEIVING MENTION (29)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Jackie Areson | SR | Tennessee | Distance | Delray Beach, Fla. |
| Marie Louise Asselin | SR | West Virginia | Distance | Sarnia, Ont. |
| Joanna Atkins | SR | Auburn | Sprints | Stone Mountain, Ga. |
| Gwen Berry | SR | Southern Illinois | Throws | St. Louis, Mo. |
| LaKya Brookins (D) | SR | South Carolina | Sprints | Seneca, S.C. |
| Ti’erra Brown (D) | SR | Miami (Fla.) | Hurdles | Hampton, Va. |
| Dominique Duncan (D) | JR | Texas A&M | Sprints | Houston, Texas |
| Colleen Felix | JR | Georgia | Jumps | St. Andrews, Grenada |
| Sheniqua Ferguson | SR | Auburn | Sprints | Nassau, Bahamas |
| Melissa Gergel | SR | Oregon | Pole Vault | Glenwood, Ill. |
| Anna Jelmini | RS FR | Arizona State | Throws | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| Amber Kaufman | SR | Hawai’i | Jumps | San Jose, Calif. |
| Liz Lawton | SR | Chicago | Distance | North Easton, Mass. |
| Lindsay Lettow | JR | Central Missouri | Combined Events | Urbandale, Iowa |
| Chantel Malone | SR | Texas | Jumps/Sprints | Tortola, British V.I. |
| Gabby Mayo | JR | Texas A&M | Sprints/Hurdles | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Chantae McMillan | SR | Nebraska | Combined Events | Rolla, Mo. |
| Lauryn Newson | JR | Oregon | Jumps | Richmond, Calif. |
| Holly Ozanich | SR | UW Oshkosh | Throws | Green Bay, Wis. |
| Ashton Purvis | FR | Miami (Fla.) | Sprints | Oakland, Calif. |
| Sheila Reid | JR | Villanova | Distance | Newmarket, Ont. |
| Brianna Rollins | SO/FR | Clemson | Hurdles | Miami, Fla. |
| Faith Sherrill | SR | Indiana | Throws | Ft. Wayne, Ind. |
| Karen Shump | SO | Oklahoma | Throws | Media, Pa. |
| Neely Spence | JR | Shippensburg | Distance | Shippensburg, Pa. |
| Brianne Theisen (D) | SR | Oregon | Combined Events | Humboldt, Sask. |
| Kate Van Buskirk | SR | Duke | Mid-Distance | Brampton, Ont. |
| Lucy Van Dalen | SR | Stony Brook | Distance | Wanganui, N.Z. |
| Lea Wallace (D) | SR | Sacramento State | Mid-Distance | Napa, Calif. |
(D) – demoted from the watch list this update
(N) – new to either list this update
For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the magnificent trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org. Keep up with Bowerman candidates on the USTFCCCA’s weekly results page (http://www.ustfccca.org/weekly-results) and by following the organization’s twitter feed twitter.com/TheBowerman and Facebook page facebook.com/TheBowerman.
About The Bowerman
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the top male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation. Oregon’s Ashton Eaton and Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison are the reigning winners of The Bowerman, which is named for legendary Oregon track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman.
Bowerman served the sport of track and field in numerous ways. His leadership in the USTFCCCA’s predecessor organization, the National Collegiate Track Coaches Association, and his contributions to NCAA track and field and the running community as a whole are among his many lasting legacies.
Mookie Salaam Moves Back to The Bowerman’s Men’s Watch List
May 18, 2011 Share
NEW ORLEANS – The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Wednesday their sixth update of the men’s watch list for collegiate track & field’s biggest award – The Bowerman. In this update, Oklahoma’s Mookie Salaam rejoins the watch list after a spectacular weekend at the Big 12 Championships.
Salaam captured conference titles in the 100 and 200 meters, adding to an indoor grab of league crowns in the 60 and 200 earlier in the year. Salaam left no doubt in his 200-meter conquest as he sailed to a 20.05 meet-record clocking – the second-best in the world in 2011. Salaam also won the NCAA indoor 200-meter national title in 2011.
The Bowerman Advisory Board appointed four of its members to comprise The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee and another four of its members to make up The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee. The committee will release their next men’s update on Wednesday, June 1, a week prior to the final rounds of the NCAA Division I Championships. The ten semifinalists will be named on Monday, June 20, and the three finalists will be named on Wednesday, July 13.
THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST 2011 MEN
(updated May 18, 2011, listed in alphabetical order, always ten names)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Jeshua Anderson | SR | Washington State | Hurdles | Woodland Hills, Calif. |
| Miles Batty | JR | BYU | Distance | Sandy, Utah |
| Sam Chelanga | RS SR | Liberty | Distance | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Will Claye | JR | Florida | Jumps | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Jeff Demps | SO/JR | Florida | Sprints | Winter Garden, Fla. |
| Kirani James | SO | Alabama | Sprints | Gouyave, Grenada |
| Ngonidzashe Makusha | JR | Florida State | Jumps/Sprints | Zimbabwe |
| Omo Osaghae | SR | Texas Tech | Hurdles | Lubbock, Texas |
| Mookie Salaam (P) | JR | Oklahoma | Sprints | Edmond, Okla. |
| Christian Taylor | JR | Florida | Jumps | Fayetteville, Ga. |
(P) – Promoted from “receiving mention” list this update
(N) – New to either list this update
Jeshua Anderson, Washington State
Senior, Hurdles, Woodland Hills, Calif. (Taft HS)
OUTDOOR: Anderson won his fourth-straight Pac-10 Conference title in the 400 hurdles in dramatic fashion, clocking a personal-best 48.13 to win by over a second. The time not only is the second-best in the world so far in 2011, it moves Anderson to the all-time collegiate top five in the event. Also at the Pac-10 meet, Anderson finished fourth in the 110 hurdles in 13.88 after running a personal-best 13.78 in the preliminary. The Cougars also finished second in the conference 4×400 with Anderson as the anchor
Anderson finished third at the Texas Relays in the 400 hurdles and anchored his 4×400-relay team to victory at the Mt. SAC Relays (3:07.87). Anderson was also the winner of the 110-meter hurdles in a dual at Washington.
INDOOR: His indoor season best in the 400-meter dash of 46.93 placed him in the collegiate top 35. The outdoor season is where Anderson is expected to shine when he can compete in his specialty event – the 400-meter hurdles.
Miles Batty, BYU
Junior, Distance, Sandy, Utah (Jordan HS)
OUTDOOR: In his first 1500-meter race of the season at the Mt. SAC Relays, Batty finished behind two pros, but clocked 3:36.25, three seconds ahead of all collegians. The time is the fastest to be claimed by a collegian since 1995 and is the fifth-best all-time. At the Penn Relays, Batty anchored BYU to a third-place finish in the DMR and fifth-place showing in the 4×800. At the Mountain West Championships, Batty claimed the league’s 1500-meter title (3:56.62A) and placed sixth in the 800 meters.
INDOOR: Batty, the USTFCCCA’s National Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, spurred BYU’s run to the podium for a third-place team finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships with national titles in the mile and as anchor of the squad’s DMR team. Batty was one of two to finish the national mile final in sub-four fashion as he topped Tulsa’s Chris O’Hare for the national crown with a 3:59.49 clocking. Batty, the day previous, led the Cougars to their first national crown in the DMR since 1978, holding off fast closing Indiana and Minnesota, with a 3:56.14, 1600-meter anchor split. The relay’s time of 9:29.28 is the seventh-best in collegiate history.
Batty was the Mountain West Conference mile champion (4:15.23) and again was anchor of the BYU crew to a DMR conference title. Batty notched the fastest mile time of the collegiate season with a 3:55.79 run to win the Flotrack Husky Classic on Washington’s oversized track.
Sam Chelanga, Liberty
RS Senior, Distance, Nairobi, Kenya (Bartolimo HS/Fairleigh Dickinson)
OUTDOOR: Opened the season with a win in the 10,000 meters at the Raleigh Relays in a then-collegiate-leading time of 28:15.64. Chelanga currently sits third on the collegiate list for 2011. Chelanga’s only other race so far this year came on April 30 when he won the 5000 at the Radford Highlander Invitational in 14:02.57.
INDOOR: At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Chelanga placed runner-up in the 5000 meters to Iona’s Leonard Korir with a 13:27.34 clocking. Chelanga, finished 15th overall at the NCAA meet in the 3000. In his first 5k of the indoor season, Chelanga recorded a then world-leading time of 13:41.35 on his home 200-meter, flat track on January 29. Chelanga notched a would-be collegiate leader of 7:48.24 in the 3000 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix where he finished fourth in a professional-loaded field. In addition, Chelanga tallied a 7:50.92 clocking at 3000 meters in placing fifth overall at the Flotrack Husky Classic. Chelanga added to his tally of Big South Championships with a mile crown (4:16.88) this season.
Will Claye, Florida
Junior, Jumps, Phoenix, Ariz. (Mountain Pointe HS/Oklahoma)
OUTDOOR: Claimed an impressive double win at the SEC Championships with crowns in the long and triple jumps. In the long jump, Claye bested a field that had six performers over 26 feet with a personal-best, third-round jump of 27-2½ (8.29m, 1.9 m/s), marking one of his two jumps over eight meters in the competition. Claye’s best moved him to second on the performers list in the world for the year. The following day, Claye won the league title in the triple jump with a wind-aided mark of 56-6¾ (17.24m). Another jump in the series was a wind-legal 56-2¾ (17.14m) for Claye’s new personal best.
Claye finished third at the Penn Relays long jump. Also at the Penn Relays, Claye was the leadoff leg for the Gators’ 4×200 relay that finished third.
INDOOR: At the NCAA indoor meet, Claye left his best for the last attempt in the triple jump. After five rounds, Claye had the lead at 55-8¼ (16.967m), but teammate and defending champ Christian Taylor staked his claim for the crown on his final attempt with a jump of 55-9 (16.99m). Claye responded with the event’s final salvo with a mark of 56-10 (17.32m) to win the national crown, set a new personal best, land as the all-time fourth-best collegiate performer in the event, and reset the NCAA meet record by a centimeter.
Adding to the national triple jump crown, Claye finished second in the long jump at the NCAA meet with a personal best of 26-4½ (8.04).
Claye landed a mark of 56-4 (17.17m) achieved in finishing runner up to teammate Christian Taylor at the SEC Championships. Claye added a third-place showing in the long jump at the SEC meet, placing behind only Arkansas’ Tarik Batchelor and LSU’s Zedric Thomas – both members of the national top five of the event this year.
Jeff Demps, Florida
Sophomore (indoor)/Junior (outdoor), Sprints, Winter Garden, Fla. (South Lake HS)
OUTDOOR: Demps false started in the 100 meters at the SEC Championships, but redeemed himself by anchoring the Gators’ 4×100 to a conference victory and collegiate-leading time of 38.83. Prior to the SEC Championships, Demps won two 100-meter races with slightly wind-aided times of 10.07 and 9.96. The latter came at Florida’s Tom Jones Memorial and is a mark that is the all-conditions collegiate-leader this season and will place him as the No. 1 seed going into the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Championships. Demps also anchored Florida’s 4×100 to a 38.91 for second place at the Penn Relays.
INDOOR: Demps claimed his second-straight NCAA indoor 60-meter title with a personal-best run in the finals of 6.53 seconds. Demps is the first back-to-back NCAA indoor short-sprint champ since DaBryan Blanton of Oklahoma in 2004 and 2005.
After opening the season with a 6.57 in winning the Virginia Tech Elite, Demps has four times more clocked sub-6.60 in the 60 meters, including when he won the SEC title in the event for the second-straight year with a 6.55.
Kirani James, Alabama
Sophomore, Sprints, Gouyave, Grenada
OUTDOOR: Won the SEC title in the 400 meters with a personal-best time of 44.86. The time is second-best among collegians this year (Tabarie Henry, Texas A&M, 44.83) and is tied for third in the world for 2011. James also ran the second-leg of Alabama’s 4×400 relay (3:07.87) that placed a close second to Mississippi State (3:07.65). Earlier in the year, with a 20.41 clocking in the 200 meters at the UTEP Invitational, James finished the regular season with a national top-ten time in that event.
INDOOR: Prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships, on every occasion in which he has stepped on the track for the 400 meters during the 2011 indoor season, Kirani James set a new world leader. Starting on Feb. 12 when he ran 45.47 (oversized) to win Notre Dame Meyo Invitational, then on Feb. 26 for the preliminary round of the SEC Championships when he ran 45.37. And, for the trifecta, James, who is only 18, clocked 44.80 in the SEC final to not only set another world record, but it also set a new world junior all-time best. The time places him in the top five of the all-time world indoor list and only Kerron Clement’s (Florida)world record of 44.57 set in 2005 stands as a better all-time collegiate mark.
At the NCAA meet, James tripped and fell shortly after completing the first lap of the qualifying round and did not finish the race.
Ngonidzashe Makusha, Florida State
Junior, Jumps/Sprints, Zimbabwe (Mandedza HS)
OUTDOOR: A three-event winner at the ACC Outdoor Championships with titles in the 100 meters, long jump, and as second leg of the 4×100 relay. The 100-meter conference title was won in a collegiate-leading time of 9.97. To win the Texas Relays title in the long jump, Makusha claimed an all-conditions collegiate leading jump of 27-6¾ (8.40m) to win by over a foot. At the Florida State Twilight on May 6, Makusha recorded three wind-aided marks of over eight meters and had a wind-aided best of 27-4¾ (8.35m) to win by a wide margin.
INDOOR: Won his first NCAA indoor long jump crown to go with two outdoor crowns with a fourth-round winning leap of 26-8½ (8.14m). Makusha won the event by four inches over Florida’s Will Claye. Makusha claimed the collegiate season’s best mark of 26-9 (8.15m) in winning his second ACC indoor crown in the event.
Omo Osaghae, Texas Tech
Senior, Hurdles, Lubbock, Texas (Monterey HS)
OUTDOOR: Osaghae won the Big 12 title and topped the championships record in the 110 hurdles with a personal-best 13.23 clocking to win by three-tenths of a second. The time moved him to third among all performers in the world this season, is the wind-legal collegiate leader for the year, and placed him inside the all-time collegiate top five.
Osaghae won 110-meter hurdle titles at the Penn and Mt. SAC Relays. But, it was at the Texas Tech Open where he would run a wind-aided 13.18 (altitude). All told, Osaghae has won seven hurdle titles this season. Additionally, Texas Tech claimed the title in the shuttle hurdle relay at the Penn Relays in a time of 54.67 with Osaghae as the leadoff man. The time moved Texas Tech to No. 4 all-time in the event.
INDOOR: With no indoor eligibility remaining, Osaghae competed unattached through the indoor season. Osaghae managed a breakthrough in the 60-meter hurdles as he won the USATF Indoor title in the event at altitude in 7.52.
Mookie Salaam, Oklahoma
Junior, Sprints, Edmond, Okla. (North HS)
OUTDOOR: Salaam claimed Big 12 titles in the 100 and 200 meters with runs of 10.23 and 20.05, respectively. The 20.05, a conference meet-record, in the 200 is the No. 2 performance in the world so far in 2011 and stands as the collegiate leader. Salaam won the Big 12 crown in the 200 by 34 hundredths of a second. For Oklahoma, Salaam also placed fourth with the 4×100 relay and seventh with the 4×400 and ended the league meet as the high-point scorer. Salaam’s wind-aided time of 10.19 in the conference preliminary gained him a top-20 national seed for the NCAA meet in the 100 meters.
Salaam won the 100-meter title at the Drake Relays (10.20).
INDOOR: Salaam won the NCAA indoor title at 200 meters with one of the closest finishes possible. Florida State’s Maurice Mitchell clocked 20.41 in section one of the national final, and Salaam matched that mark in winning section two. When the times were examined closer to the thousandths, Salaam got the nod over Mitchell with official times of 20.401 to 20.403. Salaam would run a world’s season best time in the preliminaries earlier in that same evening in posting a 20.39 time, moving the Sooner to the all-time collegiate top ten in the process.
Salaam also placed eighth at the NCAA’s 60-meter final and appeared to be suffering some sort of injury. The previous day, Salaam recorded the fastest time in the preliminary round of 6.55, ironically two-thousandths better than Mitchell again (6.546 to 6.548). Salaam would run sub-6.60 in the 60 five times during the season, including when he completed the 60-200 double at the Big 12 Indoor Championships and won the 60 at the Tyson Invitational.
Christian Taylor, Florida
Junior, Jumps, Fayetteville, Ga. (Sandy Creek HS)
OUTDOOR: Taylor finished the regular season with NCAA top-ten seeds in the 400 meters, long jump, and triple jump. In only his second triple jump competition of the outdoor season, Taylor finished second to teammate Claye at the SEC Championships with a wind-legal, personal-best jump of 56-3¼ (17.15m) on his third attempt. The jump ranks second among all collegians in 2011 and sixth in the world. Taylor passed on his final three attempts in the triple jump to run on Florida’s conference-champion 4×100 relay squad. With Taylor as the second-leg, the Gators recorded a collegiate-leading time of 38.53. Taylor also led off Florida’s 4×400 relay to a third-place finish. Taylor also finished fourth at the SEC meet in the long jump with a 26-3 (8.00m) season-best leap – a mark that is among the top ten in the NCAA this year.
As a quarter-miler to open the season, Taylor claimed a win at the Florida Relays in the 400 meters, clocking a 45.46 that ranks eighth in the NCAA this season. Taylor has also tried various sprinting distances through the season and has been a member of several relay teams, including 4×100 (preliminaries), 4×200, and sprint medley squads at the Penn Relays. Florida’s 4×200 finished third and the sprint medley took second at the meet.
INDOOR: Taylor sent quite a message in winning the SEC Championship triple jump on his final attempt. With a mark of 56-11½ (17.36m) that not only won the event for the third-straight time and set a new SEC record, he became the third all-time best collegian indoors in the event. Only Charlie Simpkins (Baptist, 17.50m, 57-5, 1986) and Mike Conley (Arkansas, 17.40m, 57-1, 1985) have jumped farther in indoor collegiate history than Taylor. The Gator also finished eighth at the SEC meet in the long jump and has a season’s best in the event of 25-0 (7.62m), good for the national top 25.
Taylor placed second at the NCAA meet to teammate Claye with a last-round best of 55-9 (16.99m).
ALSO RECEIVING MENTION (19)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Robby Andrews (D) | SO | Virginia | Distance | Englishtown, N.J. |
| Andy Bayer | RS SO | Indiana | Distance | Leo, Ind. |
| Charles Clark | SR (out) | Florida State | Sprints | Virginia Beach, Va. |
| Derek Drouin | JR | Indiana | Jumps | Corunna, Ontario |
| German Fernandez | JR/SO | Oklahoma State | Distance | Riverbank, Calif. |
| Mason Finley | SO | Kansas | Throws | Salida, Colo. |
| Eric Flores | SR | Cal Lutheran | Throws | Custer, S.D. |
| Marquise Goodwin | SO | Texas | Jumps/Sprints | Garland, Texas |
| Leford Green | JR | Johnson C. Smith | Sprints | St. Catherine, Jamaica |
| Walter Henning | SR | LSU | Throws | Kings Park, N.Y. |
| Tabarie Henry | SR | Texas A&M | Sprints | U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Leonard Korir | JR | Iona | Distance | Iten, Kenya |
| Erik Kynard | SO | Kansas State | Jumps | Toledo, Ohio |
| Torrin Lawrence | JR | Georgia | Sprints | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Marcel Lomnicky | JR | Virginia Tech | Throws | Nitra, Slovakia |
| Maurice Mitchell | JR | Florida State | Sprints | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Demetrius Pinder | SR | Texas A&M | Sprints | Freeport, Bahamas |
| Dorian Ulrey | SR | Arkansas | Distance | Port Byron, Ill. |
| Craig Van Leeuwen | JR | Ramapo | Pole Vault | Little River Falls, N.J. |
(D) – demoted from the watch list this update
(N) – new to either list this update
For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the magnificent trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org. Keep up with Bowerman candidates on the USTFCCCA’s weekly results page (http://www.ustfccca.org/weekly-results) and by following the organization’s twitter feed twitter.com/TheBowerman and Facebook page facebook.com/TheBowerman.
About The Bowerman
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the top male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation. Oregon’s Ashton Eaton and Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison are the reigning winners of The Bowerman, which is named for legendary Oregon track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman.
Bowerman served the sport of track and field in numerous ways. His leadership in the USTFCCCA’s predecessor organization, the National Collegiate Track Coaches Association, and his contributions to NCAA track and field and the running community as a whole are among his many lasting legacies.
Texas A&M’s Duncan, Sacramento State’s Wallace Now Among Women’s Watch
May 5, 2011 Share
NEW ORLEANS – Texas A&M junior Dominique Duncan and Sacramento State senior Lea Wallace were added to the women’s watch list for The Bowerman, the award’s watch list committee announced on Thursday. Duncan holds national top three seeds in the 100 and 200 meters and helped the Aggies to relay wins in the 4×100 and 4×200 at the Penn Relays. Wallace currently holds the NCAA’s No. 2 rank in the 800 and 1500.
The Bowerman Advisory Board appointed four of its members to comprise The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee and another four of its members to make up The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee. The Women’s Watch Committee will release their next update on Wednesday, May 19. The ten semifinalists will be named on Monday, June 21, and the three finalists will be named on Thursday, July 14.
THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST, 2011 WOMEN
(updated May 5, 2011, listed in alphabetical order, always ten names)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Jessica Beard | SR | Texas A&M | Sprints | Euclid, Ohio |
| LaKya Brookins | SR | South Carolina | Sprints | Seneca, S.C. |
| Ti’erra Brown | SR | Miami (Fla.) | Hurdles | Hampton, Va. |
| Dominique Duncan (N) | JR | Texas A&M | Sprints | Houston, Texas |
| Kimberlyn Duncan | SO | LSU | Sprints | Katy, Texas |
| Jordan Hasay | SO | Oregon | Distance | Arroyo Grande, Calif. |
| Tina Sutej | JR | Arkansas | Pole Vault | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Brianne Theisen | SR | Oregon | Combined Events | Humboldt, Sask. |
| Lea Wallace (N) | SR | Sacramento State | Mid-Distance | Napa, Calif. |
| Kim Williams | SR | Florida State | Jumps | Kingston, Jamaica |
(P) – Promoted from “receiving mention” list this update
(N) – New to either list this update
Jessica Beard, Texas A&M
Senior, Sprints, Euclid, Ohio (Euclid HS)
OUTDOOR: Opened the season with a win at the LSU Invitational 400-meter dash in a collegiate-leading time of 51.55, taking victory by over a second-and-a-half. Beard has been on Texas A&M’s winning 4×100 and 4×400 teams at the Texas Relays and the winning 4×200 and 4×400 teams at the Penn Relays.
INDOOR: Beard made the Aggie faithful stand up and cheer for her performances at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In the 400 meters, Beard would twice record the best collegiate-mark of the year with a 51.64 clocking in the preliminaries and would top it with a 50.79 world-leading time in winning the national crown. Beard would win the event by more than 1½ seconds for Texas A&M’s first women’s individual national indoor crown in school history. With the time, Beard moved to third all-time on the American indoor list and second all-time collegiately.
Beard also anchored the 4×400 team to their second national crown in three years with a 51.08 split, leading Texas A&M to a 3:29.72 clocking, the best in the NCAA this year and the eighth-best all-time.
Also during the indoor season, Beard won an unprecedented fourth-straight indoor Big 12 title at 400. Beard was named Big 12 Performer of the Year as she also scored second-place honors in the 200 meters at the conference meet and anchored the Aggies to a fifth-straight crown in the 4×400. Her season’s best 200 time of 22.95 ranked sixth in the NCAA. Beard finished the 2011 indoor season undefeated in the 400 meters.
LaKya Brookins, South Carolina
Senior, Sprints, Seneca, S.C. (Seneca HS)
OUTDOOR: Claimed wind-legal, collegiate-leading time of 11.10 in the 100-meter dash at the Auburn War Eagle Invitational. Among wind-legal marks, Brookins currenly ranks No. 2 in the world in the event. Brookins also lead-off 4×100 squad that finished seventh at the Penn Relays.
INDOOR: Brookins won her second NCAA indoor 60-meter crown in 2011 by equaling the collegiate record of 7.09 in the event’s final. In addition, Brookins time ended the season as the world-leading time. In the preliminaries, Brookins would run a then-collegiate-leading time of 7.13. Brookins, who also won the title in 2009, becomes the first two-time winner of the event since LSU’s Muna Lee.
Coming into the NCAA meet, Brookins has the nation’s leading time in the 60 meters with a 7.14 run captured in winning the SEC title in the event. All told, Brookins won six-out-of-seven finals at the distance this year and has clocked sub-7.20 performances on six occasions, including the last five. Brookins also won 60-meter titles at the Tyson Invitational, the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, and the Texas A&M Challenge.
Ti’erra Brown, Miami (Fla.)
Senior, Hurdles, Hampton, Va. (Hampton HS)
OUTDOOR: Winner of the ACC title in the 100-meter hurdles with a season-best clocking of 12.94, a time good for the top five in the NCAA this season. Finished runner-up of the 400 hurdles at the ACC meet and has a season’s best in the event of 56.91, claimed in winning Florida Relays title.
INDOOR: Known mostly for her 400-meter hurdle prowess, Brown overall had a light indoor season. However, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been competitive. At the ACC Indoor Championships, Brown placed second overall in the open 400, and won her section of the finals, in a time of 53.25.
Dominique Duncan, Texas A&M
Junior, Sprints, Houston, Texas (Wheatley HS)
OUTDOOR: Duncan ran anchor leg of Texas A&M’s 4×200, which won Penn Relays for the fourth-consecutive year in a world-leading 1:29.96, the seventh fastest time ever run in the world and third fastest collegiate time ever. Duncan also ran on A&M’s winning 4 x 100 relay, which claimed a third straight Penn Relays title. During the Texas Relays, Duncan ran on the winning 4×100 relay, which won a third consecutive title with a collegiate leading 42.87.
In individual events, Duncan has posted a windy best of 11.05 in the prelims of the 100 at the Texas Relays and turned in a career best of 23.23 in the 200 meters, placing second at the LSU Invitational, while producing a windy best of 22.79 to win the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Fla.
INDOOR: Ran a personal best of 7.34 twice over 60 meters, and placed 4th at the Big 12 Championships. Set a career best of 23.03 in the 200 meters, finishing 4th in the Big 12 and 5th at the NCAA Championships.
Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU
Sophomore, Sprints, Katy, Texas (Cypress Springs HS)
OUTDOOR: Holds the NCAA’s No. 1 seed in the 200-meter dash with a wind-aided season-best clocking of 22.18 (w: 3.2) set at LSU’s Alumni Gold meet. The time is the best all-conditions time in the collegiate ranks since 1989 and third all-time. Ranks in the NCAA’s top three with wind-aided best from the Texas Relays of 11.05 in the 100 meters. Wind-legal season best of 22.76 in the 200 meters ranks third in the world. Member of LSU’s winning sprint medley relay at the Penn Relays.
INDOOR: The NCAA Indoor 200-meter champion won four-straight 200-meter finals during the season, dating back to her win at the Tyson Invitational during the indoor season on Feb. 12. After setting an indoor personal record of 22.78 in winning her first career Southeastern Conference title at the SEC Indoor Championships, Duncan became the first Lady Tiger since 2004 to take home the NCAA Indoor crown in the event with her run of 22.85 at the national meet. In fact, her indoor PR of 22.78 is the world’s fastest indoor 200-meter time in three years since former Texas star Bianca Knight set the American indoor record of 22.40 at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Jordan Hasay, Oregon
Sophomore, Distance, Arroyo Grande, Calif. (Mission College Prep)
OUTDOOR: Leads the nation in the 1500 meters with a 4:10.28 clocking at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Currently also sits second in the nation in the 5000 meters with a season best of 15:37.29 set at the Mt. SAC Relays.
INDOOR: Hasay would lead Oregon to a national team title with a meet-high 22 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships, scoring individual national crowns in the mile and 3000 meters and as anchor of the Ducks’ runner-up DMR squad. Hasay became the fifth overall and first to win the national mile-3k double since Northern Arizona’s Johanna Nilsson in 2006. Hasay won the mile at the NCAA Championships in a personal-best 4:33.01, a mark that is among the all-time top ten of American collegians. In the 3000, Hasay outlasted Villanova’s Sheila Reid with a 9:13.71 run to avenge a previous head-to-head loss to Reid in the DMR the night before.
Hasay clocked a 9:05.42 season’s best in the 3000 at the UW Invitational in January. Hasay was also the mile champ at the MPSF Championships. Hasay was selected by the nation’s coaches as the USTFCCCA National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year.
Tina Sutej, Arkansas
Junior, Pole Vault, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Gimnazija Bezigrad)
OUTDOOR: Leads the collegiate ranks in the pole vault with winning performance at the Texas Relays of 14-9 (4.50m). Winner of the Penn Relays vault title with mark of 14-7¼ (4.45m).
INDOOR: Sutej topped the collegiate record in the pole vault with a clearance of 14-10¾ (4.54m) in winning the SEC title in the event. Sutej broke the 2002 record of Amy Linnen Undoubtedly the most consistent in the vault during the indoor season season, Sutej cleared more than 14-6 (4.42m) five times this season and won seven-straight events. In addition, Sutej won the national crown in the event, becoming the first from Arkansas to win an indoor NCAA pole vault title as the only to clear 14-7¼ (4.45m) at the national meet.
Brianne Theisen, Oregon
Senior, Combined Events, Humboldt, Saskatchewan (Humboldt Collegiate Institute)
OUTDOOR: Has yet to compete.
INDOOR: Theisen twice set the collegiate record in the pentathlon in 2011 and won her second-straight NCAA crown in the event. Her score of 4,540 bettered her previous all-time collegiate-best mark of 4,507 set in January at the UW Invitational and ranked among the world’s top five in the event for the season. Theisen would earn personal bests of 6-½ (1.84m) in the high jump and 2:11.82 in the 800 meters en route to this season’s national crown. In addition, Theisen has won ten-straight combined-event competitions against collegiate competition through the 2011 indoor season.
Theisen also scored at the NCAA meet for the second-straight year as a member of Oregon’s 4×400 relay team.
At the MPSF Championships, Theisen sat out the pentathlon, but competed in four other events, including leading-off the Ducks 4×400 to victory, placing second in the high jump, and third in the 60-meter hurdles.
Theisen was also named the USTFCCCA National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.
Lea Wallace, Sacramento State
Senior, Mid-Distance, Napa, Calif. (Vintage HS/Cal Poly)
OUTDOOR: Ranks second in the NCAA this season in the 800 and 1500. Season’s best in the 800 of 2:02.95 came at home MONDO Mid-Major Challenge. Top time of 4:11.31 in the 1500 came at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational.
INDOOR: Wallace has emerged as one of the top middle distance runners in Div. I during her senior year. During the indoor season, Wallace owned the fastest time by a collegiate athlete in the 800 for most of the year with a school record of 2:03.07. She was the Big Sky Conference champion in both the 800 and mile and advanced to the NCAA Championships. Wallace has continued to shine during the outdoor season and currently ranks second in Div. I in both the 800 and 1500. Her time of 2:02.95 had been the fastest by a Div. I women this season for nearly a month before being dropped to second last weekend. Wallace also moved into second nationally in the 1500 after running 4:11.31 in her first race of that distance this year.
Kim Williams, Florida State
Senior, Jumps, Kingston, Jamaica (Vere Technical HS)
OUTDOOR: Won ACC titles in the long and triple jumps, sweeping both events for the third time at the conference meet. In addition, the triple jump title was won by Williams in each of her four years, indoor and outdoor in the league. Leads the nation in the triple jump with wind-aided triple jump mark of 46-9 (14.25m), set in winning the Texas Relays.
INDOOR: Williams became the first in NCAA D-I women’s history to win the national title in the triple jump for a third time. Williams in the 2011 version, used a 45-9¾ (13.96m) mark on her final attempt to post the best mark among all collegians for the season. However, it was not easy as Williams posted fouls on her first two attempts in the competition, but notched a 43-1¾ (13.15m) in round three to secure a spot in the event’s finals. In addition, Williams placed second in the long jump at the NCAA Championships.
Williams also netted impressive performances in both long and triple jumps at the ACC Championships. In becoming the first in ACC Championship history to win an event for a fourth time, Williams triple jumped to a collegiate-leading mark of 45-9¾ (13.96m). In addition, the previous day, Williams won the ACC long jump title with a leap of 21-6 (6.55m) – a performance that finished the season ranked No. 2 in the NCAA for the indoor season.
ALSO RECEIVING MENTION (28)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Nia Ali | SR | Southern California | Combined Events | Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Jackie Areson (D) | SR | Tennessee | Distance | Delray Beach, Fla. |
| Marie Louise Asselin | SR | West Virginia | Distance | Sarnia, Ont. |
| Joanna Atkins | SR | Auburn | Sprints | Stone Mountain, Ga. |
| Brigetta Barrett | SO | Arizona | Jumps | Duncanville, Texas |
| Gwen Berry | SR | Southern Illinois | Throws | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Colleen Felix | JR | Georgia | Jumps | St. Andrews, Grenada |
| Sheniqua Ferguson | SR | Auburn | Sprints | Nassau, Bahamas |
| Melissa Gergel | SR | Oregon | Pole Vault | Glenwood, Ill. |
| Semoy Hackett | JR | LSU | Sprints | Scarborough, Trinidad & Tobago |
| Anna Jelmini (D) | RS FR | Arizona State | Throws | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| Amber Kaufman | SR | Hawai’i | Jumps | San Jose, Calif. |
| Liz Lawton | SR | Chicago | Distance | North Easton, Mass. |
| Lindsay Lettow | JR | Central Missouri | Combined Events | Urbandale, Iowa |
| Chantel Malone | SR | Texas | Jumps/Sprints | Tortola, British V.I. |
| Gabby Mayo | JR | Texas A&M | Sprints/Hurdles | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Chantae McMillan | SR | Nebraska | Combined Events | Rolla, Mo. |
| Lauryn Newson | JR | Oregon | Jumps | Richmond, Calif. |
| Holly Ozanich | SR | UW Oshkosh | Throws | Green Bay, Wis. |
| Ashton Purvis | FR | Miami (Fla.) | Sprints | Oakland, Calif. |
| Sheila Reid | JR | Villanova | Distance | Newmarket, Ont. |
| Brianna Rollins | SO/FR | Clemson | Hurdles | Miami, Fla. |
| Faith Sherrill | SR | Indiana | Throws | Ft. Wayne, Ind. |
| Karen Shump | SO | Oklahoma | Throws | Media, Pa. |
| Neely Spence | JR | Shippensburg | Distance | Shippensburg, Pa. |
| Jeneba Tarmoh | JR | Texas A&M | Sprints | San Jose, Calif. |
| Kate Van Buskirk | SR | Duke | Mid-Distance | Brampton, Ont. |
| Lucy Van Dalen | SR | Stony Brook | Distance | Wanganui, N.Z. |
(D) – demoted from the watch list this update
(N) – new to either list this update
For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the magnificent trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org. Keep up with Bowerman candidates on the USTFCCCA’s weekly results page (http://www.ustfccca.org/weekly-results) and by following the organization’s twitter feed twitter.com/TheBowerman and Facebook page facebook.com/TheBowerman.
About The Bowerman
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the top male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation. Oregon’s Ashton Eaton and Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison are the reigning winners of The Bowerman, which is named for legendary Oregon track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman.
Bowerman served the sport of track and field in numerous ways. His leadership in the USTFCCCA’s predecessor organization, the National Collegiate Track Coaches Association, and his contributions to NCAA track and field and the running community as a whole are among his many lasting legacies.
Florida State’s Makusha Joins Bowerman Watch List, Andrews Promoted
May 4, 2011 Share
NEW ORLEANS – The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Wednesday their fifth update of the men’s watch list for collegiate track & field’s biggest award – The Bowerman. In this update, Florida State’s Ngonidzashe Makusha was added to the watch list for the first time this year while Virginia’s Robby Andrews rejoins the watch list for the first time since March.
Makusha has this outdoor season’s top wind-legal collegiate time in the 100 meters of 9.97, claimed in winning his first ACC title in the event two weeks ago. Makusha is a three-time NCAA long jump champion and won his first indoor national crown in the event this March.
After taking the indoor season off to redshirt, Andrews has claimed runner-up in the 1500 meters at the ACC Championships and led the Cavaliers to their second-straight Penn Relays title in the 4×800 relay this past weekend. With an anchor split of 1:46.00, Andrews was able to push the relay to a final time of 7:12.15, the third-best all-time collegiate mark in the event.
The Bowerman Advisory Board appointed four of its members to comprise The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee and another four of its members to make up The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee. The committee will release their next men’s update on Wednesday, May 18. The ten semifinalists will be named on Monday, June 20, and the three finalists will be named on Wednesday, July 13.
THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST 2011 MEN
(updated May 4, 2011, listed in alphabetical order)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Jeshua Anderson | SR | Washington State | Hurdles | Woodland Hills, Calif. |
| Robby Andrews (P) | SO | Virginia | Distance | Englishtown, N.J. |
| Miles Batty | JR | BYU | Distance | Sandy, Utah |
| Sam Chelanga | RS SR | Liberty | Distance | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Will Claye | JR | Florida | Jumps | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Jeff Demps | SO/JR | Florida | Sprints | Winter Garden, Fla. |
| Kirani James | SO | Alabama | Sprints | Gouyave, Grenada |
| Ngonidzashe Makusha (N) | JR | Florida State | Jumps/Sprints | Zimbabwe |
| Omo Osaghae | SR | Texas Tech | Hurdles | Lubbock, Texas |
| Christian Taylor | JR | Florida | Jumps | Fayetteville, Ga. |
(P) – Promoted from “receiving mention” list this update
(N) – New to either list this update
Jeshua Anderson, Washington State
Senior, Hurdles, Woodland Hills, Calif. (Taft HS)
OUTDOOR: Anderson clocked a season-best time of 49.33 in the 400-meter hurdles to win the Jim Click Shootout on April 2, a performance that ranks among the top ten in the world this year. Anderson finished third at the Texas Relays in the 400 hurdles and anchored his 4×400-relay team to victory at the Mt. SAC Relays (3:07.87). Anderson was also the winner of the 110-meter hurdles in a dual at Washington.
INDOOR: His indoor season best in the 400-meter dash of 46.93 placed him in the collegiate top 35. The outdoor season is where Anderson is expected to shine when he can compete in his specialty event – the 400-meter hurdles.
Robby Andrews, Virginia
Sophomore, Distance, Englishtown, N.J. (Manalapan HS)
OUTDOOR: Andrews claimed runner-up honors in the 1500 meters at the ACC Championships with a time of 3:40.77 that ranks sixth collegiately this season. At the Penn Relays, Andrews led the Cavaliers to their second-straight title in the 4×800 relay this past weekend. With an anchor split of 1:46.00, Andrews was able to push the relay to a final time of 7:12.15, the third-best all-time collegiate mark in the event.
INDOOR: Redshirted. Successfully was the “rabbit” for Bernard Lagat’s attempt to break the American two-mile record.
Miles Batty, BYU
Junior, Distance, Sandy, Utah (Jordan HS)
OUTDOOR: In his first 1500-meter race of the season at the Mt. SAC Relays, Batty finished behind two pros, but clocked 3:36.25, three seconds ahead of all collegians. The time is the fastest to be claimed by a collegian since 1995 and is the fifth-best all-time. At the Penn Relays, Batty anchored BYU to a third-place finish in the DMR and fifth-place showing in the 4×800.
INDOOR: Batty, the USTFCCCA’s National Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, spurred BYU’s run to the podium for a third-place team finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships with national titles in the mile and as anchor of the squad’s DMR team. Batty was one of two to finish the national mile final in sub-four fashion as he topped Tulsa’s Chris O’Hare for the national crown with a 3:59.49 clocking. Batty, the day previous, led the Cougars to their first national crown in the DMR since 1978, holding off fast closing Indiana and Minnesota, with a 3:56.14, 1600-meter anchor split. The relay’s time of 9:29.28 is the seventh-best in collegiate history.
Batty was the Mountain West Conference mile champion (4:15.23) and again was anchor of the BYU crew to a DMR conference title. Batty notched the fastest mile time of the collegiate season with a 3:55.79 run to win the Flotrack Husky Classic on Washington’s oversized track.
Sam Chelanga, Liberty
RS Senior, Distance, Nairobi, Kenya (Bartolimo HS/Fairleigh Dickinson)
OUTDOOR: Opened the season with a win in the 10,000 meters at the Raleigh Relays in a then-collegiate-leading time of 28:15.64. Chelanga currently sits third on the collegiate list for 2011. Chelanga’s only other race so far this year came on April 30 when he won the 5000 at the Radford Highlander Invitational in 14:02.57.
INDOOR: At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Chelanga placed runner-up in the 5000 meters to Iona’s Leonard Korir with a 13:27.34 clocking. Chelanga, finished 15th overall at the NCAA meet in the 3000. In his first 5k of the indoor season, Chelanga recorded a then world-leading time of 13:41.35 on his home 200-meter, flat track on January 29. Chelanga notched a would-be collegiate leader of 7:48.24 in the 3000 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix where he finished fourth in a professional-loaded field. In addition, Chelanga tallied a 7:50.92 clocking at 3000 meters in placing fifth overall at the Flotrack Husky Classic. Chelanga added to his tally of Big South Championships with a mile crown (4:16.88) this season.
Will Claye, Florida
Junior, Jumps, Phoenix, Ariz. (Mountain Pointe HS/Oklahoma)
OUTDOOR: Finished third at the Penn Relays long jump with his best of the season, a wind-aided 25-11½ (7.91m, w: 6.2). Also at the Penn Relays, Claye was the leadoff leg for the Gators’ 4×200 relay that finished third.
INDOOR: At the NCAA indoor meet, Claye left his best for the last attempt in the triple jump. After five rounds, Claye had the lead at 55-8¼ (16.967m), but teammate and defending champ Christian Taylor staked his claim for the crown on his final attempt with a jump of 55-9 (16.99m). Claye responded with the event’s final salvo with a mark of 56-10 (17.32m) to win the national crown, set a new personal best, land as the all-time fourth-best collegiate performer in the event, and reset the NCAA meet record by a centimeter.
Adding to the national triple jump crown, Claye finished second in the long jump at the NCAA meet with a personal best of 26-4½ (8.04).
Claye landed a mark of 56-4 (17.17m) achieved in finishing runner up to teammate Christian Taylor at the SEC Championships. Claye added a third-place showing in the long jump at the SEC meet, placing behind only Arkansas’ Tarik Batchelor and LSU’s Zedric Thomas – both members of the national top five of the event this year.
Jeff Demps, Florida
Sophomore (indoor)/Junior (outdoor), Sprints, Winter Garden, Fla. (South Lake HS)
OUTDOOR: Demps has completed and won two 100-meter races with slightly wind-aided times of 10.07 and 9.96. The latter came at Florida’s Tom Jones Memorial and is a mark that is the all-conditions collegiate-leader this season. Demps has anchored Florida’s 4×100 to a 38.91 season’s best, a top-five collegiate time. UF also finished second at the Penn Relays in the event.
INDOOR: Demps claimed his second-straight NCAA indoor 60-meter title with a personal-best run in the finals of 6.53 seconds. Demps is the first back-to-back NCAA indoor short-sprint champ since DaBryan Blanton of Oklahoma in 2004 and 2005.
After opening the season with a 6.57 in winning the Virginia Tech Elite, Demps has four times more clocked sub-6.60 in the 60 meters, including when he won the SEC title in the event for the second-straight year with a 6.55.
Kirani James, Alabama
Sophomore, Sprints, Gouyave, Grenada
OUTDOOR: Notched a time of 45.12 in the 400 meters at the Ole Miss Open and is third on the NCAA list this season. In addition, with a 20.81 clocking in the 200 meters at the UTEP Invitational, James is also in the nation’s top three in that event. James is also a member of the team’s 4×100 and 4×400 teams.
INDOOR: Prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships, on every occasion in which he has stepped on the track for the 400 meters during the 2011 indoor season, Kirani James set a new world leader. Starting on Feb. 12 when he ran 45.47 (oversized) to win Notre Dame Meyo Invitational, then on Feb. 26 for the preliminary round of the SEC Championships when he ran 45.37. And, for the trifecta, James, who is only 18, clocked 44.80 in the SEC final to not only set another world record, but it also set a new world junior all-time best. The time places him in the top five of the all-time world indoor list and only Kerron Clement’s (Florida)world record of 44.57 set in 2005 stands as a better all-time collegiate mark.
At the NCAA meet, James tripped and fell shortly after completing the first lap of the qualifying round and did not finish the race.
Ngonidzashe Makusha, Florida State
Junior, Jumps/Sprints, Zimbabwe (Mandedza HS)
OUTDOOR: A three-event winner at the ACC Outdoor Championships with titles in the 100 meters, long jump, and as second leg of the 4×100 relay. The 100-meter conference title was won in a collegiate-leading time of 9.97. To win the Texas Relays title in the long jump, Makusha claimed an all-conditions collegiate leading jump of 27-6¾ (8.40m) to win by over a foot.
INDOOR: Won his first NCAA indoor long jump crown to go with two outdoor crowns with a fourth-round winning leap of 26-8½ (8.14m). Makusha won the event by four inches over Florida’s Will Claye. Makusha claimed the collegiate season’s best mark of 26-9 (8.15m) in winning his second ACC indoor crown in the event.
Omo Osaghae, Texas Tech
Senior, Hurdles, Lubbock, Texas (Monterey HS)
OUTDOOR: Osaghae has started off his senior season with his best marks of his career and kept getting faster. Most recently, Osaghae has won the 110-meter hurdle titles at the Penn and Mt. SAC Relays. But, it was at the Texas Tech Open where he would run a collegiate-leading 13.18 (altitude). All told, Osaghae has won six hurdle titles this season. Additionally, Texas Tech claimed the title in the shuttle hurdle relay at the Penn Relays in a time of 54.67 with Osaghae as the leadoff man. The time moves Texas Tech to No. 4 all-time in the event.
INDOOR: With no indoor eligibility remaining, Osaghae competed unattached through the indoor season. Osaghae managed a breakthrough in the 60-meter hurdles as he won the USATF Indoor title in the event at altitude in 7.52.
Christian Taylor, Florida
Junior, Jumps, Fayetteville, Ga. (Sandy Creek HS)
OUTDOOR: Taylor added to his resume as quarter-miler in opening the season with a win at the Florida Relays in the 400 meters, clocking a 45.46 that ranks fifth in the NCAA this season. Taylor has also tried various sprinting distances through the season and has been a member of several relay teams, including the Gators’ 4×100 (preliminaries), 4×200, and sprint medley squads at the Penn Relays. Florida’s 4×200 finished third and the sprint medley took second at the meet. Taylor has yet to claim a fair mark in either long or triple jumps this outdoor season.
INDOOR: Taylor sent quite a message in winning the SEC Championship triple jump on his final attempt. With a mark of 56-11½ (17.36m) that not only won the event for the third-straight time and set a new SEC record, he became the third all-time best collegian indoors in the event. Only Charlie Simpkins (Baptist, 17.50m, 57-5, 1986) and Mike Conley (Arkansas, 17.40m, 57-1, 1985) have jumped farther in indoor collegiate history than Taylor. The Gator also finished eighth at the SEC meet in the long jump and has a season’s best in the event of 25-0 (7.62m), good for the national top 25.
Taylor placed second at the NCAA meet to teammate Claye with a last-round best of 55-9 (16.99m).
ALSO RECEIVING MENTION (19)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Andy Bayer | RS SO | Indiana | Distance | Leo, Ind. |
| Charles Clark | SR (out) | Florida State | Sprints | Virginia Beach, Va. |
| Derek Drouin | JR | Indiana | Jumps | Corunna, Ontario |
| German Fernandez | JR/SO | Oklahoma State | Distance | Riverbank, Calif. |
| Mason Finley | SO | Kansas | Throws | Salida, Colo. |
| Eric Flores | SR | Cal Lutheran | Throws | Custer, S.D. |
| Marquise Goodwin | SO | Texas | Jumps/Sprints | Garland, Texas |
| Leford Green | JR | Johnson C. Smith | Sprints | St. Catherine, Jamaica |
| Walter Henning | SR | LSU | Throws | Kings Park, N.Y. |
| Tabarie Henry | SR | Texas A&M | Sprints | U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Leonard Korir | JR | Iona | Distance | Iten, Kenya |
| Erik Kynard | SO | Kansas State | Jumps | Toledo, Ohio |
| Torrin Lawrence | JR | Georgia | Sprints | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Marcel Lomnicky | JR | Virginia Tech | Throws | Nitra, Slovakia |
| Maurice Mitchell | JR | Florida State | Sprints | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Demetrius Pinder | SR | Texas A&M | Sprints | Freeport, Bahamas |
| Mookie Salaam | JR | Oklahoma | Sprints | Edmond, Okla. |
| Dorian Ulrey | SR | Arkansas | Distance | Port Byron, Ill. |
| Craig Van Leeuwen | JR | Ramapo | Pole Vault | Little River Falls, N.J. |
(D) – demoted from the watch list this update
(N) – new to either list this update
For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the magnificent trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org. Keep up with Bowerman candidates on the USTFCCCA’s weekly results page (http://www.ustfccca.org/weekly-results) and by following the organization’s twitter feed twitter.com/TheBowerman and Facebook page facebook.com/TheBowerman.
About The Bowerman
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the top male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation. Oregon’s Ashton Eaton and Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison are the reigning winners of The Bowerman, which is named for legendary Oregon track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman.
Bowerman served the sport of track and field in numerous ways. His leadership in the USTFCCCA’s predecessor organization, the National Collegiate Track Coaches Association, and his contributions to NCAA track and field and the running community as a whole are among his many lasting legacies.