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The Best Collegiate Athletes of the Year to Be Crowned Next Week in San Antonio - TheBowerman.orgPublished by
December 7, 2010 NEW ORLEANS – We are just a few days away from the awarding of The Bowerman, marking a thrilling finish to the 2010 track & field season. Bestowed to the nation’s top collegiate men’s and women’s track and field athlete, The Bowerman will be presented next Wednesday, December 15, in a ceremony that takes place in conjunction with the annual convention of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) being held in San Antonio. Three of the six finalists were Olympians in the 2008 Beijing Games and all six will be on many short lists to participate in the 2012 London Games. 2010 Finalist Bios (PDF) | Flotrack Archive of the 2009 Ceremony The three finalists vying for this year’s men’s award include Ashton Eaton (Oregon), Andrew Wheating (Oregon), and Ryan Whiting (Arizona State). Eaton bested a 17-year-old world record in the heptathlon during the 2010 indoor season and won NCAA titles in both seasons with the combined events. Wheating won NCAA outdoor crowns in the 800 and 1500 meters, becoming the first to accomplish the epic double win since 1984. Whiting once again won NCAA shot put crowns during both indoor and outdoor seasons and added his first national title with the discus. Last year, Galen Rupp of Oregon won the inaugural men’s award. The women’s award will be presented to Queen Harrison (Virginia Tech), Lisa Koll (Iowa State), or Blessing Okagbare (UTEP). Harrison became the first female in NCAA Division I history to win national titles in the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles in the same championships. Koll set a new collegiate record in the 10,000 meters during the outdoor season and swept NCAA crowns in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, becoming only the fourth female in history to do so. Okagbare notched NCAA titles in the 100 meters and long jump outdoors, becoming the first female in Division I history to do. In 2009, Jenny Barringer of Colorado was the winner of the inaugural women’s award. John Anderson, anchor of ESPN’s SportsCenter and co-host of ABC’s Wipeout will serve as the evening’s master of ceremonies. Anderson was a former student-athlete and high jumper at the University of Missouri. The awards ceremony will take begin next Wednesday at 7 p.m., central, at the JW Marriott Hill Country in San Antonio, Texas, and a broadcast of the proceedings will be streamed live on Flotrack.org. The show will feature on-stage interviews with each of the finalists and will accompany an archival look back on their seasons. Paper balloting by The Bowerman Advisory Board, 2009 winners, and selected media personnel, statisticians, and collegiate administrators, selected each of the winners. An independent accounting firm collected, tabulated, and certified the final results and will keep the result secret until the envelope is opened in a few days. In addition, online fan balloting comprised one vote in the overall totals. Over 27,000 votes were cast this year and Lisa Koll (53 percent) was the women’s top vote getter while Queen Harrison (43 percent) and Blessing Okagbare (4 percent) followed. The men’s voting was incredibly tight as Ryan Whiting (39 percent) earned the fan vote nod, followed by Ashton Eaton (35 percent) and Andrew Wheating (26 percent). 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, administered by the USTTFCCCA, 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 non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents over 8,000 coaching members encompassing 94 percent 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.
THE BOWERMAN FINALISTS, 2010 WOMENQueen Harrison, Virginia Tech Lisa Koll, Iowa State Blessing Okagbare, UTEP
THE BOWERMAN FINALISTS, 2010 MENAshton Eaton, Oregon Andrew Wheating, Oregon Ryan Whiting, Arizona State More bowerman headlines
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