Lendore & Roesler Earn The Bowerman Trophy Fan Vote Victories

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Lendore & Roesler Earn The Bowerman Trophy Fan Vote Victories
August 12, 2014

NEW ORLEANS – While The Bowerman Trophy – collegiate track & field's highest individual honor – will not be officially awarded until December 17, the results of the Fan Vote made clear the general public's picks to win the men's and women's awards: Deon Lendore of Texas A&M and Laura Roesler of Oregon.

Lendore notched 52.56 percent of the men's vote with 8,812 total votes – this year's highest total for either gender – to win by a wide margin over Edward Cheserek of Oregon in second and Lawi Lalang of Arizona in third.

Roesler accrued 41.71 percent of the women's competition with a final total of 8,239 to defeat runner-up Courtney Okolo of Texas and third-place Sharika Nelvis of Arkansas State.

The results of the Fan Vote will count as one ballot in the overall process alongside the ballots of former winners and track & field media members, administrators, statisticians and experts from around the country.

By virtue of their Fan Vote victories, Lendore and Roesler will both receive three points in the overall The Bowerman Trophy voting process. Cheserek and Okolo will both receive two points, and Lalang and Nelvis will earn one.

Winners of The Bowerman Trophy will be announced Wednesday, December 17, in a live ceremony at the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Convention in Phoenix, Ariz., at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa.

On the men's side, Cheserek finished second with 32.95 percent and 5,515 votes and Lalang was third with 14.39 percent and 2,409. After starting neck-and-neck with Cheserek, Lendore's fans boosted him to a comfortable margin he would hold for the rest of the two weeks.

Okolo was second in the women's vote with 34.07 percent and 6,731 votes, while Nelvis was third with 24.22 percent and a total of 4,784.

Throughout the two-week vote, first Nelvis then Okolo made serious runs at Roesler's lead. Okolo eventually took the lead at the end of the first week, but Roesler stormed back behind strong Oregon support and didn't look back.

Nearly 22,000 unique voters cast 19,754 votes for the women and 16,763 for the men for a total of 36,490.

Two of the past three winners of the men's Fan Vote have gone on to win The Bowerman Trophy – Ngoni Makusha of Florida State in 2011 and Cam Levins of Southern Utah in 2012 – while the last woman to win both the Fan Vote and The Bowerman Trophy was Jessica Beard of Texas A&M in 2011.



WINNER SELECTION PROCESS
The Bowerman Voters will receive ballots listing each of the finalists and must rank them by first, second and third choice. First-place votes will receive three points, second place will notch two, and third will receive one point. The finalist with the highest point total will be declared the winner.

The Bowerman Voters consist of:

The Bowerman Advisory Board (10 members)
Select media personnel, statisticians, and collegiate administrators
Galen Rupp, 2009 men’s winner of The Bowerman
Ashton Eaton, 2010 men’s winner of The Bowerman
Ngoni Makusha, 2011 men’s winner of The Bowerman
Cam Levins, 2012 men's winner of The Bowerman
Derek Drouin, 2013 men's winner of The Bowerman
Jenny (Barringer) Simpson, 2009 women’s winner of The Bowerman
Queen Harrison, 2010 women’s winner of The Bowerman
Jessica Beard, 2011 women’s winner of The Bowerman
Kimberlyn Duncan, 2012 women's winner of The Bowerman
Brianna Rollins, 2013 women's winner of The Bowerman
Online voting by the public will constitute one collective vote (ranking of choices will be made by order of total single votes)
Online voting by USTFCCCA members will constitute one collective vote (ranking of choices will be made by order of total single votes)
Paper balloting will conclude in the coming weeks while online voting will begin on Monday, July 28 and will last until Tuesday, August 12. An independent accounting firm will collect, tabulate, and certify final results and will keep the result secret until the envelope is opened December 17 at The Bowerman Trophy Award Show.



ABOUT THE BOWERMAN
The Bowerman Trophy, which was first awarded in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation.

Indiana’s Derek Drouin and Clemson’s Brianna Rollins are the reigning winners of The Bowerman, which is named for legendary Oregon track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman. In addition to their collegiate achievements, Rollins is the reigning World Champion in the 100 meter hurdles — an event for which she also holds the American Record — while Drouin has won bronze medals at both the 2012 Olympics and 2013 IAAF World Championships.

Past winners include Olympic gold medalist, World Champion and decathlon world-record holder Ashton Eaton (2010); 10,000-meter Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp (2009); and 2011 IAAF World Champion at 1500 meters, Jenny Simpson (2009).

In total, the winners from the award’s first four years have won three Olympic Medals, six World Championships (one relay, two indoor) and 11 World Championships medals (two relay, one indoor). When considering finalists for the award, 13 individuals have earned a combined six Olympic medals, eight World Championships (one relay, four indoor) and 23 World Championships medals (three realy, six indoor).

Former winners of and finalists for The Bowerman currently hold 20 national records. Each former winner of the men’s Bowerman Trophy holds at least two national records, while two of the five women’s winners are current national record-holders.

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.




U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
1100 Poydras Street, Suite 1750
New Orleans, LA 70163

Contact: Kyle Terwillegar
Assistant Communications Director
kyle@ustfccca.org
(504) 599-8905




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