Florida State’s Makusha Joins Bowerman Watch List, Andrews Promoted
Makusha always known for jumps ran eye-opening sub-10 to win ACC 100 meters
May 4, 2011
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 4x800 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
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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 4x400-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 4x800 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 4x800.
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’ 4x200 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 4x100 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 4x100 and 4x400 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 4x100 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’ 4x100 (preliminaries), 4x200, and sprint medley squads at the Penn Relays. Florida’s 4x200 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 (D)
SR
LSU
Throws
Kings Park, N.Y.
Tabarie Henry
SR
Texas A&M
Sprints
U.S. Virgin Islands
Leonard Korir (D)
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.
Ramapo Profile
Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as fourth in the Best Regional Universities North category, Ramapo College of New Jersey is sometimes mistaken for a private college. This is, in part, due to its unique interdisciplinary academic structure, its size of approximately 6,008 students and its pastoral setting in the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains on the New Jersey/New York border. http://www.ramapo.edu/about/index.html
Keith Conning: I had never heard of this college before. It sounds like a nice place to attend college.
(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.
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U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Communications Manager
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New Orleans, LA 70163
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