SEC assured another men's winner; Rogers looks to add to Oregon's legacy, Ewen and Orji could make history

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The ninth annual Bowerman awards ceremony, presented to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track and field athletes in the country and held in conjunction with the annual USTFCCCA convention, will be held Friday in Phoenix, Ariz.

The ceremony will be shown on Facebook Live, beginning at 9 p.m. EST

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The three men's finalists are Tennessee sprinter Christian Coleman, along with Texas A&M standouts Fred Kerley and Lindon Victor.

Georgia jumper Keturah Orji is the lone returning finalist, joining Oregon star Raevyn Rogers and Arizona State thrower Maggie Ewen.

All three men's finalists are now professionals, along with Rogers, who decided to forgo her senior year competing for the Ducks. Ewen and Orji are both seniors.

The Southeastern Conference will be guaranteed a fourth consecutive men's winner, with Texas A&M's Deon Lendore securing the award in 2014, Florida's Marquis Dendy earning the recognition in 2015 and Arkansas' Jarrion Lawson last year.

Rogers could become the third Oregon female athlete in four years to capture the award, following Laura Roesler in 2014 and Jenna Prandini in 2015. A victory for Rogers would give the Ducks five winners overall, along with Galen Rupp in 2009 and Ashton Eaton in 2010. Texas A&M is the only other program with multiple Bowerman winners, with Lendore following Jessica Beard in 2011.

Orji would make history as the first female jumper to receive the award, with Ewen looking to become the first thrower in either gender to be honored. All eight past women's winners have been sprinters, hurdlers or distance runners.

Dendy, Lawson and Indiana's Derek Drouin have earned the men's award as jumpers. Ewen is only the fourth thrower to be selected as a finalist, following Arizona State's Ryan Whiting in 2010, UCLA's Julian Wruck in 2013 and Raven Saunders of Ole Miss last year.

Victor is looking to join Eaton as the only decathlete to receive the men's award. With Victor and Kerley among the finalists, it marks the first time since 2010 that one program has two of the three male nominees, with Oregon's Andrew Wheating joining Eaton that year.

Kerley and Rogers already won the online fan votes in July, which count as one vote overall for each gender. The remaining votes are cast by the 11 members of the Bowerman Advisory Board, the 16 past winners, select media personnel, statisticians and collegiate administrators, along with another online vote by USTFCCCA members.

For more information on the award and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org.