Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Women’s Semifinalists for The Bowerman 2011 Announced

Three finalists chosen from the list of ten will be named on Thursday, July 14



June 21, 2011



NEW ORLEANS – The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Tuesday the ten female semifinalists for collegiate track & field’s biggest award – The Bowerman. With the collegiate season complete, the semifinalists will be evaluated by the ten-person Bowerman Advisory Board and three finalists will be named from the semifinalist group on Thursday, July 14.



THE BOWERMAN SEMIFINALISTS, 2011 WOMEN



NAME
YEAR
SCHOOL
EVENTS
HOMETOWN

Nia Ali
SR
Southern California
Hurdles/Jumps
Philadelphia, Pa.

Brigetta Barrett
SO
Arizona
Jumps
Duncanville, Texas

Jessica Beard
SR
Texas A&M
Sprints
Euclid, Ohio

Emma Coburn
JR
Colorado
Distance
Crested Butte, Colo.

Kimberlyn Duncan
SO
LSU
Sprints
Katy, Texas

Jordan Hasay
SO
Oregon
Distance
Arroyo Grande, Calif.

Sheila Reid
JR
Villanova
Distance
Newmarket, Ont.

Tina Sutej
JR
Arkansas
Pole Vault
Ljubljana, Slovenia

Jeneba Tarmoh
JR
Texas A&M
Sprints
San Jose, Calif.

Brianne Theisen
SR
Oregon
Combined Events
Humboldt, Sask.








Nia Ali, Southern California

Senior, Hurdles/Jumps, Philadephia, Pa. (West Catholic HS)



Ali was the winner of the NCAA outdoor 100-meter hurdle title with a wind-aided run of 12.63. Ali clocked a personal-best time of 12.77 to win Pac-10 title and is currently ranked seventh in the world in the event in 2011. Finishing sixth at the NCAA outdoor meet in the high jump, Ali once leapt over six feet this season (6-1¼, 1.86m) to finish second in the Pac-10 to Arizona’s Brigetta Barrett. Ali was also an NCAA qualifier indoors in the 60-meter hurdles.







Brigetta Barrett, Arizona

Sophomore, Jumps, Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville HS)



Barrett claimed NCAA high jump titles in both the indoor and outdoor seasons to join six others that have accomplished the same feat (most recently, Texas’ Destinee Hooker in 2009). Barrett cleared six feet or more in each of her 11 competitions and notched an all-around personal best of 6-4 (1.93m) to win the Pac-10 title. Barrett won 10 of 11 meet crowns in the high jump during both indoor and outdoor seasons.





Jessica Beard, Texas A&M

Senior, Sprints, Euclid, Ohio (Euclid HS)



Beard became the just the third female in NCAA Division I history, and first since 1999, to win both 400 national titles in the same year and run on both winning 4x400 relays at the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor Championships. Beard, four-time Big 12 indoor 400-meter champ, recorded the world’s fastest time over the 400-meter distance indoors with a 50.79 clocking to win the national crown. Outdoors, Beard clocked 51.10 for the NCAA win and split 49.13 for the Aggies as anchor of the winning 4x400 relay.







Emma Coburn, Colorado

Junior, Distance, Crested Butte, Colo. (Crested Butte HS)



Coburn won the NCAA’s 3000-meter steeplechase title in a wire-to-wire, 9:41.14 victory and bettered the field by more than six seconds. Coburn was undefeated in the steeplechase during the season and clocked a 9:40.51 personal best to win the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational race – a mark that ranks sixth among collegians all-time. Coburn also finished eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the mile.





Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU

Sophomore, Sprints, Katy, Texas (Cypress Springs HS)



Duncan swept the NCAA’s 200-meter titles in 2011 and, in both seasons, notched world-leading times. Duncan became the sixth woman in NCAA Division I history and the first since Auburn’s Kerron Stewart in 2007 to sweep 200-meter titles in the same season. Indoors, Duncan won the SEC title in 22.78 for the world’s best time of the season. Outdoors, Duncan was undefeated in the 200 meters and clocked a low-altitude collegiate record (and the third-best overall) with a 22.24 run. Duncan was also the NCAA’s 100-meter runner-up and anchored the Lady Tigers to an NCAA title in the 4x100 (42.64).





Jordan Hasay, Oregon

Sophomore, Distance, Arroyo Grande, Calif. (Mission College Prep)



Hasay won NCAA indoor titles in the mile and 3000 meters, becoming the fifth overall and the first since Northern Arizona’s Johanna Nilsson (2006) to claim such a double. Hasay also led the Ducks to a runner-up finish in the distance medley relay at the national indoor meet. Outdoors, Hasay finished fourth nationally in the 5000 meters and eighth in the 1500 meters.







Sheila Reid, Villanova

Junior, Distance, Newmarket, Ontario



Reid tallied three NCAA crowns and five Big East titles during the 2011 track & field seasons. Outdoors, Reid became the first woman in Division I history to the NCAA’s 1500 and 5000 in the same championship. Indoors, Reid anchored the Wildcats to the NCAA crown in the DMR and was second nationally in the 3000 meters. In the Big East, Reid would also win the 1500-5000 double outdoors and was a three-time titlist indoors with wins in the 1000 meters, 4x800, and DMR.







Tina Sutej, Arkansas

Junior, Pole Vault, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Gimnazija Bezigrad)



Sutej set new collegiate records with the pole vault both indoors and outdoors in 2011. Indoors, Sutej would reach a best of 14-10¾ (4.54m) to set the new all-time collegiate best in winning the SEC crown and would go on to win the NCAA title. Outdoors, Sutej again won the SEC league title with a collegiate-record vault – a clearance of 15-1½ (4.61m). Overall, Sutej collected 13-straight meet victories before finishing runner-up at the NCAA outdoor meet, but tied the championship-meet record with Oregon’s Melissa Gergel who took the crown on virtue of misses.







Jeneba Tarmoh, Texas A&M

Junior, Sprints, San Jose, Calif. (Mt. Pleasant HS/Tennessee)



Tarmoh was twice the NCAA’s runner-up in the 200 meters in 2011, matching performances both indoors and outdoors. Tarmoh did win an NCAA titles with both indoor and outdoor Aggie 4x400-meter relays and collected another silver as a member of the 4x100 squad. Tarmoh recorded top-five world times both indoors and outdoors in the 200 meters, running 22.34 in the national finals to move into the collegiate all-time top ten in the event. Tarmoh swept Big 12 outdoor 100- and 200-meter sprint titles and was on Texas A&M’s winning 4x100 relay.





Brianne Theisen, Oregon

Senior, Combined Events, Humboldt, Saskatchewan (Humboldt Collegiate Institute)



Theisen twice set the collegiate record in the pentathlon in the 2011 indoor season and won her second-straight NCAA crown in the event. Her score of 4,540 bettered her previous all-time collegiate best mark of 4,507 set in January at the UW Invitational and ranked among the world’s top five in the event for the season. Theisen also scored at the NCAA indoor meet for the second-straight year as a member of Oregon’s 4x400 relay team. Outdoors, Theisen did not compete as a result of injury.





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.



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.















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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

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