The Bowerman: 2024 Women’s Pre-NCAA Indoor Championships Watch List

NEW ORLEANS – Two athletes make their debut on The Bowerman Women’s Watch List as the Pre-NCAA Indoor Championships version was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The two new names are Jasmine Jones of Southern California and Maia Ramsden of Harvard. They join eight returners: Lamara Distin of Texas A&M, JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina, Brianna Lyston of LSU, Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame, Hana Moll of Washington, Michaela Rose of LSU, Ackelia Smith of Texas and Parker Valby of Florida.

The Bowerman will be awarded in December at the USTFCCCA Convention in Orlando, Florida.

Distin, who hails from Hanover, Jamaica, raised the collegiate record in the high jump to 2.00m (6-6¾), winning the high jump at the SEC Indoor Championships. That was the first collegiate 2-meter performance indoors or outdoors. Distin is undefeated in three meets this winter, adding a pair of clearances at 1.97m (6-5½) to give her four of the top-11 collegiate indoor performances all-time (one of those was achieved last year). Seeking a third-straight NCAA DI Indoor title, Distin now has nine career Watch List appearances, making her the active leader among women.

Ford, who hails from Fayetteville, North Carolina, is undefeated in seven races this year and posted the year’s fastest time in the 200 and 300 meters. In the 200, she has sped 22.36 twice – once winning the SEC Indoor – to rate No. 4 all-time. She opened up the winter with a pair of wins in the 300 with times of 35.83 and 36.00 – two of the five fastest in collegiate history. In the 400, she rates No. 6 this year at 51.33 and posted a 49.80 split to anchor the Gamecocks to the SEC Indoor title in the 4×400 at 3:26.05. This is her second Watch List appearance.

Jones, who hails from Atlanta, Georgia, debuts on the Watch List as she is competing indoors for the first time since 2022. She is undefeated against collegians in the 60-meter hurdles this season, setting the collegiate-leading time of 7.78 as runner-up in the USATF Indoor Championships at Albuquerque, New Mexico. That puts her in a tie for No. 3 all-time collegiately, and she also had a prelim mark of 7.82, giving her the two fastest collegiate times of the year. Jones is the ninth female athlete from Southern California to make the Watch List, and the first since 2021.

Lyston, who hails from Portmore, Jamaica, is undefeated in three 60-meter finals this winter in producing the year’s two fastest performances. She ran 7.07 in January at the Razorback Invitational to become No. =4 all-time collegiately, then added a 7.08 to win the SEC Indoor on the same track. She also has clocked 23.16 in her only 200 this year. This is her second Watch List appearance.

Markezich, who hails from Woodinville, Washington, is undefeated in five races this winter – three individually and twice with impressive relay anchors. She is No. 2 all-time collegian in the 3000 with her 8:40.42 in early December and followed that in February with a PR 4:27.76 in the mile that puts her No. 9 on the all-time, all-conditions collegiate list. Two weeks ago she anchored Notre Dame’s distance medley relay team to win the Alex Wilson Invitational in 10:44.62 with a 4:22.31 split that is the fastest-known for the 1600 leg. She finished the month with the 3k title in ACC Indoor Championships along with anchoring the Fighting Irish’s DMR to victory in a meet-record 10:49.74, passing two squads with a 4:28.54 split. This is her third career Watch List appearance.

Moll, who hails from Olympia, Washington, is undefeated against collegians in four competitions this season and her collegiate best of 4.64m (15-2¾) at the Washington Invitational rates her No. 5 all-time collegiately. As a prep last year she scaled 4.65m (15-3) in making the World Championships final, where she tied for ninth. This is her second Watch List appearance.

Ramsden, who hails from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, debuts on the Watch List after clocking 4:24.83 as the top collegian in the Women’s Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games two weeks ago. That performance makes her No. 2 collegian ever behind the 4:24.26 by Katelyn Tuohy last year. She also moved to No. 2 in the 1500 meters with her en-route 4:07.18, and she rates No. 7 all-time collegiately in the 3000 at 8:46.84 from early December. She won the 3k at the Ivy League Championships, where she also anchored Harvard to victory in the DMR with a 4:26.47 mile split. She is the second female athlete from Harvard to make the Watch List, joining 2018 semifinalist Gabby Thomas.

Rose, who hails from Suffolk, Virginia, is No. 2 all-time collegian in a current national championship event and No. 1 in a former national championship event. In the 800, she won the SEC Indoor in 1:59.25 that supplanted her two-week-old PR of 1:59.49 as she now holds two of the three fastest collegiate indoor times (trailing only the 1:58.40 CR by 2021 The Bowerman winner Athing Mu). In January she broke a long-standing collegiate (and world) best in the 600 yards, running 1:16.76. This is her fourth career Watch List appearance.

Smith, who hails from Clarendon, Jamaica, owns this year’s four best collegiate long jumps, led by a 6.85m (22-5¾) leap while going undefeated in three meets this winter. She is just off her PR 6.88m (22-7) from last year that gives her a share of No. 6 on the all-time collegiate indoor list. In the triple jump – where rates No. 3 all-time outdoors (14.54m/47-8½) and No. 5 indoors (14.29m/46-10¾) from last year – she has competed just once this year, taking fourth in the Big 12 Indoor at 13.37m (43-10½). She is her team’s fastest in the 60 (PR 7.21) and ran a 53.25 leadoff split on the Longhorn’s top 4×400 squad (3:29.80). This is her fifth career Watch List appearance.

Valby, who hails from Tampa, Florida, raced indoors for the first time in 12 weeks at the SEC Indoor Championships and showed no rust in winning two events. She brought Florida home first in the DMR with a 4:31.45 anchor, then ran 8:42.29 to win the 3000 by 36.55 seconds from the “slow” section. That 3k time made her No. 5 collegian all-time. In early December she chopped a whopping 16.11 seconds off the previous 5000-meter CR with a time of 14:56.11, the first sub-15 performance in collegiate history. This is her third career Watch List appearance.

Three athletes received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee but fell outside the Top 10: Temitope Adeshina of Texas Tech, Amber Anning of Arkansas and Jalani Davis of Ole Miss.

The next women’s Watch List is scheduled for March 20.