July 12, 2010

NEW ORLEANS – The Bowerman Advisory Board in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Monday the three female finalists for the highest honor given to collegiate track & field student-athletes – The Bowerman. Representing the best in collegiate track & field during the 2010 seasons, the finalists are Virginia Tech senior Queen Harrison, Iowa State senior Lisa Koll, and UTEP senior Blessing Okagbare.

Finalists were chosen by the ten-person Bowerman Advisory Board based on performances recorded during the indoor and outdoor 2010 track & field seasons. Only performances through the conclusion of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships are used in consideration.

THE BOWERMAN FINALISTS, 2010 WOMEN

Queen Harrison, Virginia Tech | Season Statistical Recap PDF
Harrision, a native of Richmond, Va., became the first female in NCAA history to win both 100- and 400-meter hurdle national titles. In addition, Harrison won the NCAA indoor crown in the 60-meter hurdles. Harrison recorded the 2010 collegiate-best times in all three hurdle events spanning the indoor and outdoor seasons and went undefeated in every final of those events. Harrison notched the fourth-best, all-time collegiate best 100-meter hurdle time in winning the Penn Relays title (12.61). Harrison was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor campaigns.

Lisa Koll, Iowa State | Season Statistical Recap PDF
Koll, a native of Fort Dodge, Iowa, swept NCAA crowns in the 5000 and 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to become only the fourth female in history to do so. Koll won the 10k by over 23 seconds to claim her second-ever national title in the event while her 30-second victory in the national final of the 5000 meters paired with her 2010 NCAA indoor title at the same distance. Koll opened the outdoor season with a collegiate record, clocking 31:18.07 in the 10k at the Stanford Invitational. In individual races, Koll only lost to a collegian once during the season. Koll was selected by the nation’s coaches as the USTFCCCA National Track Athlete of the Year during the outdoor season and a regional-award winner in the same category for the indoor season.

Blessing Okagbare, UTEP | Season Statistical Recap PDF
Okagbare, a native of Umuahi, Nigeria, notched NCAA crowns during the outdoor season in the 100 meters and long jump, becoming the first in collegiate history to pull off such a feat. In the indoor season, Okagbare won national titles in the 60 meters and long jump and grabbed top honors in the long jump in topping the NCAA Championships meet record twice. Okagbare was undefeated in all sprint and jump finals during the season and anchored the UTEP 4×100 to the NCAA Championships semifinal. Okagbare was the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Track Athlete and Mountain Region Field Athlete of the Year during the indoor season and the once again the Mountain Region Track Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season.

The next step in selecting a winner will be carried out in the next months with voting. 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, media personnel, statisticians, and collegiate administrators.
• Galen Rupp, 2009 men’s winner of The Bowerman
• Jenny Barringer, 2009 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 August while online voting will begin in the coming weeks and will last until late August. An independent accounting firm will collect, tabulate, and certify final results and will keep the result secret until the envelope is opened in December.

Award winners will be announced in a ceremony at the USTFCCCA Convention on December 15 at the JW Marriott Hill Country, San Antonio, Texas. John Anderson, ESPN SportsCenter anchor and co-host of ABC’s Wipeout, will host the night’s festivities. The three women and three men finalists will be invited to the presentation. The three male finalists will be released Tuesday.

About The Bowerman

The Bowerman is named in honor of track and field pioneer Bill Bowerman, who served the sport of track and field in numerous ways, including his leadership in the USTFCCCA predecessor organization the National Collegiate Track Coaches Association, and his contributions to NCAA track and field and the running community as a whole. The Bowerman was first presented in 2009.

For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the recently-debuted trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org.

About the USTFCCCA

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. USTFCCCA members encompass approximately 94% of all NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and include members representing the NAIA as well as a number of state high school coaches associations.

Queen Harrison, Sr., Virginia Tech,
Hurdles, Richmond, Va., Hermitage HS

INDOOR: Captured Virginia Tech’s first national title in women’s track and field at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships, winning the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.95 … set personal, school and ACC meet record with a 2010 collegiate-leading time of 7.94 in the 60-meter hurdles for her first individual ACC Championship … also broke school record in the 400-meter dash three times on the season, and owns the standard at 53.06, which she achieved in another ACC-title performance at the conference championships … was undefeated in 60-meter hurdle competition … named ACC Performer of the Week twice during indoor campaign … USTFCCCA Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year

OUTDOOR: Became the first female in NCAA history to win both the 100- and 400-meter hurdle national titles … captured the 100-meter hurdles title with a time of 12.67, after winning the 400-meter hurdles earlier in the championship with a school-record time of 54.55 … Harrison broke the school record in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking a 2010 collegiate-leading 12.61 en route to the Penn Relays championship … also won the ACC crowns in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles … named ACC Women’s Track MVP honors for the outdoor season, the Penn Relays Women’s Individual Athlete of the Meet and has won the conference’s weekly award three times this year … USTFCCCA Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year

Lisa Koll, Sr., Iowa State,
Distance, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Fort Dodge HS

INDOOR: Koll won her first NCAA indoor crown with a 15:39.65 run at 5000 meters and beat the field by more than 10 seconds … Koll nearly pulled off the NCAA distance double, but was outdueled by Illinois’ Angela Bizzarri in the 3000 meters by just 12 hundredths of a second to take runner-up honors (8:57.52) … Koll claimed double Big 12 Championship titles and double collegiate-best marks of the season at the conference meet in Ames … Combining times on 200 meter and oversized tracks, Koll would be the fifth-best collegiate performer all-time in the 5000m and sixth-best all-time in the 3000m from times recorded at the Big 12 meet … USTFCCCA Midwest Track Athlete of the Year.

OUTDOOR: Swept NCAA crowns in the 5000 and 10,000 meters becoming only the fourth female in NCAA history to notch, the 5k-10k double, joining Amy Skieresz (Arizona, 1997-98), Stephanie Herbst (Wisconsin, 1986), and Betty Jo Springs (North Carolina State, 1983) … Koll’s 10k victory of 32:49.35 gave her the second NCAA title of the event in her career, cruising to victory after breaking from the pack at the 7000-meter mark to win by over 20 second … two days later, Koll returned for the 5000 and led nearly wire-to-wire in a 30-second, 15:23.80 victory, the third-fastest time recorded by a collegian … opened the season with a collegiate record clocking of 31:18.07 in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational, topping the previous mark of 31:25.45 set by Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego in 2008 … on May 1, Koll posted a 15:17.76 collegiate-leading time over 5000 meters in placing fourth overall and as the first collegiate at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational, again at Stanford … anchored DMR team with a 4:31.8, 1600-meter split to a Drake Relays title … Went on to win Big 12 titles in both the 5000 and 10,000 meters and reset the 5000 meet record with a 15:22.42 clocking previously held by Sara Slattery of Colorado … USTFCCCA National Track Athlete of the Year … finalist for Honda-Broderick Cup, representing track & field.

Blessing Okagbare, Sr., UTEP,
Jumps/Sprints, Umuahi, Nigeria, Delta State

INDOOR: NCAA Champion in the long jump and 60 meters … in the long jump notched a meet record, 2010 collegiate best and personal best mark of 22-6½ (6.87m) on third attempt to go with 22-5¼ (6.84m) mark on previous attempt … Okagbare also finished the season with the third-best long jump performance in the world … clocked 7.18 in the 60 at the NCAA meet to equal her own 2010 collegiate best and personal best … Okagbare matched former Texas great Marshevet Hooker (2006) as a sprint-jump double national champ … claimed titles in the 60m, 200m, triple and long jump at the Conference USA Championships to earn the Performance of the Meet and High Point Scorer of the Meet honors (40 points) … set new meet records in the triple jump and school and meet records in the 60m at the C-USA Championships … named C-USA Athlete of the Week three  times during the season… went undefeated in all events competed throughout season … … tapped as USTFCCCA National Female Field Athlete of the Year … named the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Track Athlete of the Year, USTFCCCA Mountain Region Field Athlete of the Year, and Conference USA Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

OUTDOOR: Won NCAA titles in the long jump and the 100 meters, becoming the first in NCAA history to win the 100m-long jump double at the national outdoor meet … clocked an 11.21 in the semifinal for wind legal season best in the 100 and notched a wind-aided 10.98 in the finals for the all-conditions collegiate-leading mark of 2010 … in the long jump, won NCAA crown with 22-3½ (6.79m) leap, and notched season’s collegiate best mark of 22-7 (6.88m) in winning the Texas Relays with meet record … winner of the 100m and long jump at the Conference USA Championships … honored as the Conference USA Track and Field Athlete of the Year as well as picking up C-USA Championships Performance of the Meet and High Point Scorer of the Meet accolades … honored as the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Female Track Athlete of the Year … named a finalist for the Honda Sports Track and Field Woman of the Year Award.