July 9, 2015
NEW ORLEANS – Hurdler Kendra Harrison of Kentucky, pole vaulter Demi Payne of Stephen F. Austin, and sprinter/jumper Jenna Prandini of Oregon were announced Thursday as Finalists for The Bowerman Trophy, collegiate track & field’s highest individual honor.Based on their outstanding achievements during both the indoor and outdoor collegiate track & field seasons in 2014-15, these three women were selected to travel to San Antonio, Texas, for the awarding of The Bowerman Trophy on December 17 in a live-streamed award show as part of the USTFCCCA Convention at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa.
The announcement from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and the Bowerman Advisory Board was made Thursday afternoon via webstream. The video can be watched in its entirety below.
One among them ultimately will join the ranks of The Bowerman Winners alongside a number of the world’s best track & field athletes. Among them are Jenny (Barringer) Simpson – a world champion at 1500 meters and American Record holder in the 3000-meter steeplechase – and Brianna Rollins, already an American Record holder and World Champion in the 100-meter hurdles as part of her Bowerman-winning 2013 season.
Joining that exclusive club of Bowerman Trophy winners will not be an easy task, as this year’s trio of finalists combined for five NCAA titles, several more top-five national finishes and more than a dozen all-time great collegiate performances.
Harrison won a pair of NCAA titles this year in the indoor 60-meter hurdles and the outdoor 100-meter hurdles, and finished runner-up outdoors in the 400-meter hurdles. Her winning time of 7.87 indoors moved her to No. 3 on the all-time college performers list, and her 54.09 effort in the 400H is the fifth-fastest time ever by a collegian.
En route to winning the SEC title in the 100H, she ran 12.50 for the No. 3 spot on the all-time collegiate performers list in that event. That SEC title was part of a 4-0 season in the 100H outdoors, to go along with a 2-0 record in the 60H indoors.
Payne owns the indoor collegiate pole vault record and won the NCAA outdoor title over rival Sandi Morris (the outdoor college record holder and indoor national champion). She broke the indoor college record three times in the span of a week, clearing 15-7 (4.75m) at the Lobo Invitational to top the record of 15-3 (4.65m) she set on her previous jump.
She broke the outdoor record twice – including a clearance of 15-5½ (4.71m) at the Southland Conference Championships – before it was rebroken by Morris. Payne got the final word, however, clearing 15-5 (4.70m) to best Morris at NCAAs by five centimeters. In total, she owns five of the seven best clearances in collegiate indoor history and seven of the top 11 in outdoor history.
Prandini was the most prolific NCAA Championships point-scorer of the 2015 season, racking up a total of 49 between the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships.
Indoors she won the long jump, was runner-up at 200 meters and fourth at 60 meters for 23 points. Outdoors she won at 100 meters, and was runner-up both at 200 meters and in the long jump for 26 more.
Her outdoor season was especially historic. She became the second-fastest woman in collegiate history at 100 meters (10.92), the fourth-fastest at 200 meters (22.21) and just missed the top-10 list in the long jump (22-3¾/6.80m).
Now in the seventh year of The Bowerman Trophy, there are plenty of “firsts” that could be achieved any one of these three women.
– Harrison and Payne are first-time Finalists for their schools – regardless of gender.
– Prandini will look to succeed former Oregon teammate Laura Roesler as the winner of the Bowerman Trophy. No school has ever won back-to-back women’s Bowerman Trophies.
– None of the six previous female Bowerman winners claimed NCAA titles in field events en route to hoisting their trophies. This year’s class of Finalists includes two women with NCAA titles in field events: Payne won the outdoor pole vault and Prandini took the indoor long jump.
– Payne would be the first field event specialist to win the women’s Bowerman Trophy. She would join 2013 men’s winner Derek Drouin as the lone field event winners.
Voting to determine both the women’s trophy and men’s trophy – the finalists for which were announced on Wednesday to be Shawn Barber of Akron, Edward Cheserek of Oregon, and Marquis Dendy of Florida – will commence July 27 and conclude August 11.
Fan voting will take place simultaneously on TheBowerman.org. The results will collectively count as one ballot alongside those cast by media members, statisticians, USTFCCCA member coaches and other experts from around the nation.
Finalists were chosen by The Bowerman Advisory Board, a ten-person panel of track & field experts from around the country, based on performances recorded during the 2014 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons. Only performances through the conclusion of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships are eligible for consideration.
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
- Deon Lendore, 2014 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
- Laura Roesler, 2014 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)
THE BOWERMAN PAST FINALISTS & AWARD HISTORY
MEN2009
Winner: Galen Rupp, Oregon
Finalist: Ashton Eaton, Oregon
Finalist: German Fernandez, Oklahoma State
2010
Winner: Ashton Eaton, Oregon
Finalist: Andrew Wheating, Oregon
Finalist: Ryan Whiting, Arizona State
2011
Winner: Ngoni Makusha, Florida State
Finalist: Jeshua Anderson, Washington State
Finalist: Christian Taylor, Florida
2012
Winner: Cam Levins, Southern Utah
Finalist: Tony McQuay, Florida
Finalist: Andrew Riley, Illinois
2013
Winner: Derek Drouin, Indiana
Finalist: Lawi Lalang, Arizona
Finalist: Julian Wruck, UCLA
2014
Winner: Deon Lendore, Texas A&M
Finalist: Edward Cheserek, Oregon
Finalist: Lawi Lalang, Arizona
WOMEN
2009
Winner: Jenny Barringer, Colorado
Finalist: Destinee Hooker, Texas
Finalist: Porscha Lucas, Texas A&M
2010
Winner: Queen Harrison, Virginia Tech
Finalist: Lisa Koll, Iowa State
Finalist: Blessing Okagbare, UTEP
2011
Winner: Jessica Beard, Texas A&M
Finalist: Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU
Finalist: Tina Sutej, Arkansas
2012
Winner: Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU
Finalist: Brigetta Barrett, Arizona
Finalist: Brianne Theisen, Oregon
2013
Winner: Brianna Rollins, Clemson
Finalist: Brigetta Barrett, Arizona
Finalist: Kori Carter, Stanford
2014
Winner: Laura Roesler, Oregon
Finalist: Sharika Nelvis, Arkansas State
Finalist: Courtney Okolo, Texas
Combined Genders
Multiple Finalists by School (2009-2015)
Oregon (9): Ashton Eaton (2)*, Galen Rupp*, Laura Roesler*, Brianne Theisen, Andrew Wheating, Edward Cheserek (2), Jenna Prandini
Arizona (4): Brigetta Barrett (2), Lawi Lalang (2)
Florida (3): Tony McQuay, Christian Taylor, Marquis Dendy
Texas A&M (3): Jessica Beard*, Porscha Lucas, Deon Lendore*
LSU (2): Kimberlyn Duncan (2)*
Texas (2): Courtney Okolo, Destinee Hooker
* Previous Winner
All-Time Finalists by Conference
(using conference affiliation for seasons in question, change in affiliation is noted by finalists listed. Includes both men and women.)
Pac-12 (17):
OREGON – 9
ARIZONA – 4
ARIZONA STATE – 1
STANFORD – 1
UCLA – 1
WASHINGTON STATE – 1
SEC (8):
FLORIDA – 3
LSU – 2
ARKANSAS – 1
TEXAS A&M – 1
KENTUCKY
– 1
Big 12 (7):
TEXAS – 2
TEXAS A&M – 2
COLORADO – 1 (Barringer, 2009)
IOWA STATE – 1
OKLAHOMA STATE – 1
ACC (3):
CLEMSON – 1
FLORIDA STATE – 1
VIRGINIA TECH – 1
Big Ten (2):ILLINOIS – 1
INDIANA – 1
One Each:
Conference USA (UTEP), Summit League (Southern Utah), Sun Belt (Arkansas State), Southland (Stephen F. Austin), Mid-American (Akron)
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 five 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.
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 9,000 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment