The Bowerman Preseason Watch List Announced for Women’s Award
January 12, 2012 Share
NEW ORLEANS – The race to acquire collegiate track & field’s most coveted award has begun its 2012 campaign. The official preseason women’s watch list announced by The Bowerman Watch List Committee has many familiar names from the 2011 season including two former finalists and no fewer than seven who have been semifinalists in the past two years.
Kimberlyn Duncan of LSU and Tina Sutej of Arkansas were finalists for The Bowerman in 2011 and are among the stellar returnees to the watch list. In addition, Arizona’s Brigetta Barrett, Colorado’s Emma Coburn, Oregon’s Jordan Hasay, Villanova’s Sheila Reid, and Oregon’s Brianne Theisen – semifinalists in 2011 – are on the preseason watch. Theisen was also a semifinalist in 2010.
Landing on the watch list for the first time are Southern Miss’ Tori Bowie, Oregon’s Anne Kesselring, and Arizona’s Julie Labonte.
LSU’s Semoy Hackett is on the “also receiving mention” list. Hackett was a preseason watchlister in 2011 and a semifinalist while at Lincoln (Mo.) in 2010.
THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST, PRESEASON 2012 WOMEN
(updated January 12, 2012, listed in alphabetical order)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Brigetta Barrett | JR | Arizona | Jumps | Duncanville, Texas |
| Tori Bowie | SR | Southern Miss | Jumps/Sprints | Sandhill, Miss. |
| Emma Coburn | SR | Colorado | Distance | Crested Butte, Colo. |
| Kimberlyn Duncan | JR | LSU | Sprints | Katy, Texas |
| Jordan Hasay | JR | Oregon | Distance | Arroyo Grande, Calif. |
| Anne Kesselring | JR | Oregon | Middle Distance | Nürnberg, Germany |
| Julie Labonte | JR | Arizona | Throws | Ste-Justine, Quebec |
| Sheila Reid | SR | Villanova | Distance | Newmarket, Ont. |
| Tina Sutej | SR | Arkansas | Pole Vault | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Brianne Theisen | SR | Oregon | Combined Events | Humboldt, Sask. |
QUICKLY – The Watch List
Brigetta Barrett, Arizona – Semifinalist in 2011. Barrett claimed NCAA high jump titles in both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2011 to join six others that have accomplished the same feat (most recently, Texas’ Destinee Hooker in 2009). Barrett cleared six feet or more in each of her 11 competitions and notched an all-around personal best of 6-4 (1.93m) to win the Pac-10 title. Barrett won 10 of 11 meet crowns in the high jump during both indoor and outdoor 2011 seasons.
Tori Bowie, Southern Miss – In 2011, Bowie swept NCAA long jump titles. At the outdoor championships, Bowie claimed a career-best leap of 21-9½ (6.64m) in taking the crown, needing the final jump to retake the lead from Oklahoma’s Ti’Anca Mock. Bowie was the indoor champion after posting a jump of 21-4¾ (6.52m) in the event’s final.
Emma Coburn, Colorado – Semifinalist in 2011. Coburn won the NCAA’s 3000-meter steeplechase title in 2011 with a wire-to-wire victory, clocking 9:41.14 which bettered the field by more than six seconds. Coburn was undefeated in the steeplechase during the season and clocked a 9:40.51 personal best to win the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational race – a mark that ranks sixth among collegians all-time. Coburn also finished eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the mile.
Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU – A 2011 finalist for The Bowerman. Duncan swept the NCAA’s 200-meter titles in 2011 and, in both seasons, notched world-leading times. Duncan became the sixth woman in NCAA Division I history and the first since Auburn’s Kerron Stewart in 2007 to sweep 200-meter titles in the same season. Indoors, Duncan won the SEC title in 22.78 for the world’s best time of the season. Outdoors, Duncan was undefeated in the 200 meters and clocked a low-altitude collegiate record (and the third-best overall) with a 22.24 run. Duncan was also the NCAA’s 100-meter runner-up and anchored the Lady Tigers to an NCAA title in the 4×100 (42.64).
Jordan Hasay, Oregon – Semifinalist in 2011. Hasay won NCAA indoor titles in the mile and 3000 meters in 2011, becoming the fifth overall and the first since Northern Arizona’s Johanna Nilsson (2006) to claim such a double. Hasay also led the Ducks to a runner-up finish in the distance medley relay at the national indoor meet. Outdoors, Hasay finished fourth nationally in the 5000 meters and eighth in the 1500 meters.
Anne Kesselring, Oregon – In 2011, Kesselring took the NCAA 800-meter outdoor title as a sophomore, posting a career-best 2:02.15 to outdistance Oklahoma State frosh Natalja Piliusina by just one hundredth of a second. At the NCAA indoor championships, she scored in the mile (fourth) and distance medley relay (second).
Julie Labonte, Arizona – Last year, Labonte established herself as the top shot putter in the nation as a sophomore, sweeping NCAA titles and lasting the season without being defeated by a collegian. At the NCAA outdoor meet, Labonte won with a career-best put of 60-1 (18.31m). Labonte was the MPSF indoor champ and Pac-10 outdoor champ with the shot for the second-year in a row in 2011.
Sheila Reid, Villanova – Semifinalist in 2011. Reid tallied three NCAA crowns and five Big East titles during the 2011 track & field seasons. Outdoors, Reid became the first woman in Division I history to the NCAA’s 1500 and 5000 in the same championship. Indoors, Reid anchored the Wildcats to the NCAA crown in the DMR and was second nationally in the 3000 meters. In the Big East, Reid would also win the 1500-5000 double outdoors and was a three-time titlist indoors with wins in the 1000 meters, 4×800, and DMR. In cross country – which is not considered for The Bowerman – Reid has won two-consecutive individual NCAA titles and is only the fifth in the history of Division I to do so back-to-back.
Tina Sutej, Arkansas – A 2011 finalist for The Bowerman. Sutej set new collegiate records with the pole vault both indoors and outdoors in 2011. Indoors, Sutej would reach a best of 14-10¾ (4.54m) to set the new all-time collegiate best in winning the SEC crown and would go on to win the NCAA title. Outdoors, Sutej again won the SEC league title with a collegiate-record vault – a clearance of 15-1½ (4.61m). Overall, Sutej collected 13-straight meet victories before finishing runner-up at the NCAA outdoor meet, but tied the championship-meet record with Oregon’s Melissa Gergel who took the crown on virtue of misses.
Brianne Theisen, Oregon – Semifinalist in 2010 and 2011. Theisen twice set the collegiate record in the pentathlon in the 2011 indoor season 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 also scored at the NCAA indoor meet for the second-straight year as a member of Oregon’s 4×400 relay team. Outdoors, Theisen did not compete as a result of injury.
ALSO RECEIVING MENTION
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Semoy Hackett | SR | LSU | Sprints | Scarborough, Trinidad & Tobago |
| Ryann Krais | SR | Kansas State | Combined Events | Eagleville, Pa. |
| Lindsay Lettow | SR | Central Missouri | Combined Events | Urbandale, Iowa |
| Abigail Schaffer | SR | Moravian | Pole Vault | Easton, Pa. |
ABOUT THE BOWERMAN
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation.
Florida State’s Ngoni Makusha and Texas A&M’s Jessica Beard 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.
For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org.
ABOUT THE USTFCCCA
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents over 8,000 coaching members encompassing 94% of all NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and includes members representing the NAIA as well as a number of state high school coaches associations. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches’ interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field.
The Bowerman Preseason Watch List for Men Announced
January 11, 2012 Share
NEW ORLEANS – The Bowerman, an award bestowed to collegiate track & field’s best athlete of the year, was awarded to Florida State’s Ngoni Makusha and Texas A&M’s Jessica Beard less than a month ago, but it’s time to look forward to 2012 with the award’s preseason watch list. The men’s list of ten, announced by The Bowerman Watch List Committee, has three semifinalists from the 2011 season.
The three finalists from 2011 – Makusha, Washington State’s Jeshua Anderson, and Florida’s Christian Taylor – are no longer collegians.
Virginia’s Robby Andrews, Iona’s Leonard Korir, and Florida State’s Maurice Mitchell rejoins the watch list after being named semifinalists in 2011. Florida’s Jeff Demps was a semifinalist for the award in 2010. BYU’s Miles Batty and Texas’ Marquise Goodwin had time on the watch list in 2011. Duke’s Curtis Beach, Arizona’s Lawi Lalang, Florida’s Tony McQuay, and Illinois’ Andrew Riley are first time members of the watch list.
THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST, PRESEASON 2012 MEN
(updated January 11, 2012, listed in alphabetical order)
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Robby Andrews | SO/JR | Virginia | Distance | Englishtown, N.J. |
| Miles Batty | SR | BYU | Distance | Sandy, Utah |
| Curtis Beach | JR | Duke | Combined Events | Albuquerque, N.M. |
| Jeff Demps | JR/SR | Florida | Sprints | Winter Garden, Fla. |
| Marquise Goodwin | JR | Texas | Jumps/Sprints | Garland, Texas |
| Leonard Korir | JR | Iona | Distance | Iten, Kenya |
| Lawi Lalang | SO | Arizona | Distance | Eldoret, Kenya |
| Tony McQuay | JR | Florida | Sprints | Riviera Beach, Fla. |
| Maurice Mitchell | SR | Florida State | Sprints | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Andrew Riley | SR | Illinois | Sprints/Hurdles | Kingston, Jamaica |
QUICKLY – The Watch List
Robby Andrews, Virginia – In 2011, won first NCAA outdoor 800-meter title with a memorable, come-from-behind 200-meter sprint to the finish. Sitting in last place at the 600-meter mark, Andrews used a 26.44-second final close to pass the entire field to grab the tape from UC Irvine’s Charles Jock by only four hundredths of a second. Final time at the NCAA meet of 1:44.71 equaled the best collegiate mark of the year (Cory Primm, UCLA).
Miles Batty, BYU – In 2011, Batty 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. Outdoors, Batty was seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the mile.
Curtis Beach, Duke – An up-and-comer in the combined events, Beach placed runner-up at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the decathlon with 8,084 points. Beach was only the second person in the world born in the 1990s to score over 8,000 points last year (Thomas van der Plaetsen, Belgium).
Jeff Demps, Florida – In 2011, Demps claimed his second-straight NCAA indoor 60-meter title with a personal-best run in the finals of 6.53 seconds. Demps became the first back-to-back NCAA indoor short-sprint champ since DaBryan Blanton of Oklahoma in 2004 and 2005. Outdoors, Demps qualified for the final site of the NCAA Championship in the 100 meters and 4×100 relay. He was a member of the SEC champion 4×100 team outdoors as well.
Marquise Goodwin, Texas – The junior won the NCAA outdoor long jump title as a freshman in 2010. In 2011, he swept Big 12 long jump titles and leaped to a personal best 26-9¾ (8.17m).
Leonard Korir, Iona – Indoor 5000-meter and outdoor 10,000-meter NCAA champion in 2011. Split a 56.18 final lap to claim the outdoor national title. Also finished third outdoors nationally in the 5000 and sixth indoors at 3000 meters. In clocking 27:29.40 in the 10k at Stanford’s Payton Jordan Invitational in May, he moved to second all-time in collegiate history in the event (Sam Chelanga, 27:08.39, 2010)
Lawi Lalang, Arizona – Had one of the most dominant cross country seasons in NCAA history in 2011. As a freshman, Lalang had a perfect season, going six-for-six in races. He won the NCAA cross country crown by 13 seconds and would win every race by an average of 20.5 seconds which included the Pac-12 title and NCAA West regional crown. [NOTE: But, remember, cross country not considered in determining the award winner]. On the track in 2011, Lalang was the national runner-up in the 5000 meters.
Tony McQuay, Florida – McQuay was the NCAA’s runner-up in the 400 meters at last year’s national outdoor championships. Indoors, McQuay was a national qualifier in both the 200 and 400 meters, and scored a seventh-place spot in the 400 despite injuring himself in the 200-meter preliminaries the previous day. Most impressive was his gold-medal performance at the USATF Championships in the 400 where he fought off a bevy of pros, including 2004 Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner, to take national title in 44.68.
Maurice Mitchell, Florida State – In 2011, Mitchell was the NCAA outdoor 200-meter champion in a wind-aided 19.99 and third-leg of Florida State’s national champion 4×100-meter relay team. He was national runner-up indoors in the 200 and was only bested by Oklahoma’s Mookie Salaam who took the title by two thousandths of a second in a different section. Placed third at the NCAA meet indoors in the 60 and outdoors in the 100 meters. And, he did not lose a 200-meter race in 13 tries during the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Andrew Riley, Illinois – Riley owns NCAA high-hurdle championship titles both indoors and outdoors. In 2011, Riley was the indoor 60-meter hurdle champ which added to his 2010 outdoor 110-hurdle crown. Outside the collegiate season, Riley won the Jamaican national title in the 110 hurdles and placed 14th overall in the World Championships. Overall, Riley is a six-time Big Ten Champion.
ALSO RECEIVING MENTION
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Derek Drouin | SR/JR | Indiana | Jumps | Corunna, Ontario |
| German Fernandez | SR/JR | Oklahoma State | Distance | Riverbank, Calif. |
| Mason Finley | JR | Kansas | Throws | Salida, Colo. |
| Tim Glover | JR | Illinois State | Javelin | Normal, Ill. |
| Ryan Loughney | SR | Ashland | Throws | Grahamsville, N.Y. |
| Ben Sathre | SR | St. Thomas (Minn.) | Distance | Chaska, Minn. |
| Maston Wallace | JR | Texas | Pole Vault | Houston, Texas |
ABOUT THE BOWERMAN
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation.
Florida State’s Ngoni Makusha and Texas A&M’s Jessica Beard 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.
For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org.
ABOUT THE USTFCCCA
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents over 8,000 coaching members encompassing 94% of all NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and includes members representing the NAIA as well as a number of state high school coaches associations. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches’ interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field.