GATOR CHRISTIAN TAYLOR JUMPS TO THE BOWERMAN POST-NCAA INDOOR WATCH

GATOR CHRISTIAN TAYLOR JUMPS TO THE BOWERMAN POST-NCAA INDOOR WATCH
Taylor helped Florida to first NCAA indoor title



March 17, 2010



NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Wednesday the third update of the official watch list for The Bowerman as selected by The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee. Florida’s Christian Taylor was added to the list after producing first- and second-place showings in the jumping events at last weekend’s NCAA Indoor Championships, helping the Gators to their first national indoor title.



The ten men on the watch list accumulated several feats during the indoor season, including eight NCAA titles, nine collegiate-leading marks, four American-leading marks, two world-leading marks, two collegiate records, an American record, and a world record.



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 its next update, following the NCAA Indoor Championships, on Tuesday, April 6. The three men and three women finalists will be named on July 13.



For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the recently-debuted 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.



THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST, 2010 MEN

(updated March 17, 2010, listed in alphabetical order)

NAME
YEAR
SCHOOL
EVENTS
HOMETOWN
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS

Jeshua Anderson
JR
Washington State
Hurdles
Woodland Hills, Calif.
Taft HS

Ronnie Ash
JR
Oklahoma
Hurdles
Raleigh, N.C.
Knightdale HS/Bethune-Cookman

Ashton Eaton
SR
Oregon
Combined Events
Bend, Ore.
Mountain View HS

German Fernandez
SO
Oklahoma State
Distance
Riverbank, Calif.
Riverbank HS

Walter Henning
JR
LSU
Throws
Kings Park, N.Y.
St. Anthony's HS/North Carolina

Torrin Lawrence
SO
Georgia
Sprints
Jacksonville, Fla.
Andrew Jackson HS

David McNeill
SR
Northern Arizona
Distance
Melbourne, Australia
Xavier College

Christian Taylor
SO
Florida
Jumps
Fayetteville, Ga.
Sandy Creek HS

Andrew Wheating
SR
Oregon
Distance
Norwich, Vt.
Kimball Union Academy

Ryan Whiting
SR
Arizona State
Throws
Harrisburg, Pa.
Central Dauphin HS









Also Receiving Mention

NAME
YEAR
SCHOOL
EVENTS

Aaron Braun
SR (ind.)
Adams State
Distance

Sam Chelanga
RS JR
Liberty
Distance

Charles Clark
SR
Florida State
Sprints

Will Claye
SO
Oklahoma
Jumps

Jason Colwick
SR
Rice
Pole Vault

Lee Emanuel
SR
New Mexico
Distance

Ricky Flynn
SR
Lynchburg
Distance

Ryan Foster
JR
Penn State
Mid-Distance

Ramon Gittens
JR
St. Augustine's
Sprints

Tabarie Henry
JR
Texas A&M
Sprints

Trindon Holliday
SR (ind.)
LSU
Sprints

Bryce Lamb
FR
Texas Tech
Jumps

Ngonidzashe Makusha
JR
Florida State
Jumps

Curtis Mitchell
JR
Texas A&M
Sprints

Kurt Roberts
JR
Ashland
Throws

Scott Roth
JR
Washington
Pole Vault

Josh Scott
St. Augustine's
Sprints

Ramon Sparks
JR
Abilene Christian
Jumps

Delannie Spriggs
SR
Salisbury
Sprints






Jeshua Anderson, Jr., Washington State,

Hurdles, Woodland Hills, Calif., Taft HS



Anderson notched a 46.38 indoor personal best over 400 meters in earning runner-up honors at the MSPF Championships, a mark that ranks No. 10 in the NCAA this season … Anderson, the 400-meter hurdle standout in the outdoor season, put together a solid 2010 indoor campaign and tallied a season best of 8.04 in the short-distance hurdles.







Ronnie Ash, Jr., Oklahoma,

Hurdles, Raleigh, N.C., Knightdale HS/Bethune-Cookman



Ash captured his second-straight 60-meter hurdle NCAA crown this indoor season, joining Antwon Hicks of Mississippi (2004-05), Terrence Trammell of South Carolina (1999-2000), Tony Li of Washington State (1990-91, 55mH), Renaldo Nehemiah of Maryland (1978-79, 55mH), and Danny Smith of Florida State (1974-75, 55mH) as back-to-back high hurdle champs … Ash notched his personal best and collegiate-leading time of the season in the preliminary round of the NCAA Championships at 7.55 … Ash blazed a 7.59 in winning his first Big 12 Championship in Ames … Ash’s performance not only helped the Sooners to a Big 12 team title, but it also placed him among the all-time top 10 collegians in the event.











Ashton Eaton, Sr., Oregon,

Combined Events, Bend, Ore., Mountain View HS



Eaton not only won the NCAA heptathlon title for the second-straight year last weekend in Fayetteville, but he did it in world-record fashion … Scoring 6,499 points, Eaton reset what was Dan O’Brien’s 1993 record of 6,476 with five new personal bests over the seven-event bonanza … In January, Eaton topped what was Trey Hardee’s collegiate record with a 6,256 tally … Eaton would better each of his marks from that January weekend to claim the world record in March … Only a few hours after breaking the world record, Eaton returned to the NCAA meet to run the second leg of the Ducks 4x400 and helped the team to a sixth-place national finish … At the MPSF Championships in Seattle, Eaton claimed scoring positions in the pole vault (fourth) and as a member of the Ducks’ 4x400-meter relay team (second).











German Fernandez, So., Oklahoma State,

Distance, Riverbank, Calif., Riverback HS



Fernandez clocked a 7:51.02 (OT) over 3000 meters at the Husky Invitational for the third-best time run among collegians this season … Fernandez qualified for the Big 12 final of the mile run, but was unable to finish … Fernandez did not participate at the NCAA Indoor Championships.









Walter Henning, Jr., LSU,

Throws, Kings Park, N.Y., St. Anthony's HS/North Carolina



Henning claimed his first NCAA indoor title with a toss of 77-3¾ (23.56m), winning the event by over a foot … Henning broke the SEC Championship meet record with a 78-1 (23.80m) collegiate-leading toss to win back-to-back SEC crowns in the event … Henning’s toss also places him among the top five collegiate performers all-time in the event … Henning also scored a fifth-place showing with the shot at the SEC meet.











Torrin Lawrence, So., Georgia,

Sprints, Jacksonville, Fla., Andrew Jackson HS



Lawrence had his dream indoor season conclude with his first NCAA title as he won the day with a 45.23 clocking over the 400-meter distance … Lawrence made headlines all season … The sophomore shocked the country with a 32.32, 300-meter race at the Hokie Invitational for an all-time collegiate best in late January … For an encore, Lawrence ran a collegiate-leading 45.03 at the Tyson Invitational over 400 meters to now rank No. 5 all-time in the world indoors and as the No. 3 collegian all time … Lawrence has also been responsible for splits of 45.00 and 45.04 for the Bulldog 4x400-meter relay team … Lawrence won the SEC 400m title in a meet record of 45.10 to become only the third person in history to run under 45.10 indoors twice (Michael Johnson, Danny Everett).













David McNeill, Sr., Northern Arizona,

Distance, Melbourne, Australia, Xavier College



McNeill won the NCAA title in the 5000 meters with a the collegiate-season’s best time of 13:36.41 in holding off Liberty’s Sam Chelanga … McNeill nearly also won the 3000-meter title, but was outkicked to the finish by Arkansas’ Dorian Ulrey … Earlier in the season, McNeill claimed two collegiate-leading marks in the distance events on back-to-back weekends … in mid-February, McNeill ran to a 7:47.52 (OT) win over 3000 meters at the Husky Classic in Seattle, marking the best time ever run by a collegian on an oversized track … the following weekend, McNeill claimed an altitude-hindered 14:17.92 clocking over 5000 meters for his second collegiate leader of the season (when converted to 13:39.32) … McNeill also picked up Big Sky titles in the 3000-meter run and the DMR during the indoor season.











Christian Taylor, So., Florida,

Jumps, Fayetteville, Ga., Sandy Creek HS



Taylor claimed his second-straight NCAA indoor triple jump title with an American- and collegiate-best for the 2010 indoor season of 56-4½ (17.18m) … Taylor’s best mark in the NCAA meet was preceded by his third-round performance that was just a half-inch shorter … Taylor also used a season’s best of 26-¼ (7.93m) in the long jump to place second nationally … In total, Taylor scored 18 team points for the Gators who went on to win their first NCAA indoor crown … Earlier in the season, Taylor won his second-straight SEC triple jump title and helped the Gators 4x400 to the conference crown.







Andrew Wheating, Sr., Oregon,

Distance, Norwich, Vt., Kimball Union Academy



Wheating helped the Ducks to their second-straight NCAA championship in the distance medley relay with an anchor 1600-meter split of 4:01.23 … In 2009, Wheating ran the 800-meter leg of the DMR … Wheating took runner-up (1:48.40) in the NCAA at 800 meters after being caught at the tape by Virginia frosh Robby Andrews … Wheating started his season on February 13 with a the best collegiate mark of the season, 1:46.36 (OT), at the Husky Classic in Seattle … at the MPSF Championships, Wheating won the mile crown with a 3:58.20 (OT) clocking on that same track in Seattle.









Ryan Whiting, Sr., Arizona State,

Throws, Harrisburg, Pa., Central Dauphin HS



Whiting won his third-consecutive NCAA indoor shot put title, becoming the first to grab three straight since UTEP’s Hans Hogland (1973-74-75) … Whiting matched his collegiate-leading season best with a 70-7¼ (21.52m) toss in the fourth round at the NCAA Championships and ultimately defeated his competition by over seven feet … Whiting finished the season No. 3 in the world standings and as the second-best performer in America … Whiting finished second at the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, earning him a berth on the IAAF Indoor World Championship team … Unfortunately, the world championship in Doha, Qatar, conflicted with the NCAA Indoor Championship.



















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Tom Lewis

U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association

Communications Manager

1100 Poydras St., Suite 1750

New Orleans, LA 70163

(O) 504-599-8904 (F) 504-599-8909

Email: tom@ustfccca.org