Post-Indoor T&F Men’s Bowerman Trophy Watch List Unveiled

                  

NEW ORLEANS– The smoke has cleared after the indoor NCAA meet, and eight of the ten men on the pre-nationals Watch List for the Bowerman Trophy – collegiate track & field’s highest individual honor – remain on the post-nationals Watch List, which announced Wednesday by the Bowerman Watch List Committee.

The Bowerman Men’s Watch List Post-NCAA Indoor T&F (Click student-athletes’ names for biographies & notes) NAME YEAR SCHOOL EVENTS HOMETOWN Shawn Barber JR Akron Pole Vault Kingwood, Texas Trayvon Bromell SO Baylor Sprints St. Petersburg, Fla. Edward Cheserek SO Oregon Distance Newark, N.J. Ryan Crouser SR Texas Throws Gresham, Ore. Marquis Dendy SR Florida Jumps Middletown, Del. Eric Jenkins SR Oregon Distance Portsmouth, N.H. Edward Kemboi SR Iowa State Mid-Distance Eldoret, Kenya Michael Lihrman SR Wisconsin Throws Rice Lake, Wis. Omar McLeod SO Arkansas Hurdles Kingston, Jamaica Anthony Rotich SR UTEP Distance Nairobi, Kenya Also Receiving Votes: Jake Blankenship, Tennessee; Hayden Reed, Alabama; Deon Lendore, Texas A&M; Conor McCullough, USC; Michael Stigler, Kansas   Women’s Post-Nationals Watch List: Thursday, March 19 Next Men’s Watch List: Wednesday, April 15

Both men who joined did so with iconic and historic distance performances. Oregon senior Eric Jenkins became the second American man in the history of the meet to win the 3000 and 5000 or their imperial equivalents. His fellow Duck and 2009 Bowerman Award winner Galen Rupp was the only other American man to do so.
Edward Kemboi of Iowa State had an NCAA double that was only slightly less impressive. On Friday night, he torched the field on the leadoff leg of the DMR by a ridiculous one and a half seconds, setting up a third-place finish for the Cyclone relay. On Saturday, he won the 800 meters in 1:46.05, the fastest 800 at indoor nationals since 2001.

Total Appearances by School School Appearances Athletes Florida 71 9 Arizona 26 2 Oregon 27 6 Texas 25 3 Texas A&M 22 6 Washington State 16 1 Arkansas 15 6

Two more men already on the WL broke collegiate records at nationals. Akron’s Shawn Barber won the pole vault and broke his own national record with a jump of 5.91 meters (19-4.75) and Arkansas hurdler Omar McLeod ran a time of 7.45 seconds to win the 60 meter hurdles and break an eighteen-year-old NCAA record.
Four more historically great athletes won nationals championships this weekend. Weight throw record holder Michael Lihrman of Wisconsin nearly suffered an upset, but won NCAAs on his final throw. Oregon’s Edward Cheserek lost to Jenkins in the 3k, but was otherwise dominant on the anchor leg of the winning DMR and the open mile. Cheserek has now won four indoor NCAA titles in his first two years of college.

Total Appearances by Conference Conference Appearances SEC 144 Pac-12 100 Big 12 75 ACC 37 Big Ten 15 Big South 14 Conference USA 14

Marquis Dendy of Florida duplicated his jump double from the 2014 outdoor meet. He edged out Arkansas’s Jarrion Lawson by only a centimeter in the long jump, and went 17.37m (57-0) to crush the field in the triple jump. That makes him the third best performer in college history, and gives him the Florida school record. Previously 1-2 on the Florida performance list? 2012 Olympic gold and silver medallists Christian Taylor and Will Claye.
Baylor’s Trayvon Bromell false-started out of the 60 meters, but made up for it in the 200 with a huge personal best and winning time of 20.19 seconds–the second fastest in collegiate history and the fifth fastest in world history.
Two Texans remained on the Watch List despite suffering losses in Fayetteville. Anthony Rotich of UTEP was third in the mile, and Ryan Crouser of Texas was second in the shot put. Rotich’s primary event is the 3000-meter steeplechase, an event only contested outdoors in which he is the two-time defending NCAA Champion.
Reigning Bowerman winner Deon Lendore of Texas A&M fell off the Watch List after taking fourth in the 400 on the heels of an injury suffered at his conference meet. Joining him in the "also receiving votes" category were pole vaulter Jake Blankenship of Tennessee, discus thrower Hayden Reed of Alabama, thrower Conor McCullough of USC, and hurdler Michael Stigler of Kansas.
The next men’s Watch List will be released on April 15; the women’s Watch List will be released tomorrow.

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.
Oregon’s Laura Roesler and Texas A&M’s Deon Lendore are the reigning winners of The Bowerman, which is named for legendary Oregon track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman.
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), 2011 IAAF World Champion at 1500 meters Jenny Simpson (2009), 2013 100-meter hurdles World Champion Brianna Rollins (2013) and 2012 Olympic high jump bronze medalist Derek Drouin (2013).
In total, the winners from the award’s first four years have won three Olympic Medals, two World Championships and six World Championships medals. When considering finalists for the award, 13 individuals have earned a combined seven Olympic medals, four World Championships and 17 World Championships medals.
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.

 Courtesy USTFCCA