On December 19th, Flotrack will be providing the live stream of the fourth annual Bowerman Awards from Orlando, Florida. The award, know as the "Heisman of collegiate track & field", recognizes the top collegiate athletes and their accomplishments over the past indoor and outdoor seasons. This year's finalists are Cam Levins (distance, Southern Utah), Tony McQuay (400, Florida) and Andrew Riley (hurdles/sprints, Illinois) on the men's side; Brigetta Barrett (high jump, Arizona), Kimberlyn Duncan (sprints, LSU) and Brianne Theisen (heptathlon, Oregon) on the women's.

Flotrack, along with live streaming the event, will team up with the USTFCCCA and ESPN's John Anderson in the production of the show. This year's show will feature a "Red Carpet" opening with Flotrack's Ryan Fenton and Alex Lohr that will preview the ceremony and along with interviewing those in attendance, including Anderson and the Bowerman Finalists. The main show will be hosted by Anderson with Fenton working alongside for interviews throughout the evening. 

Flotrack will also provide pre- and post-event interviews with Finalists and the winners as well as live Twitter throughout the evening.

Below is the USTFCCCA's release of the Bowerman Finalists and their accomplishments. Make sure to tune in next Wednesday to see who will walk away as the national top track and field athlete of the 2011-12 season!

Event Schedule
When: Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Where: J.W. Marriott Resort, Orlando, FL
Times: Red Carpet Show @ 6:30pm ET; Main Show @ 7:00pm ET

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from USTFCCCA

THE BOWERMAN FINALISTS, 2012 MEN

Cam Levins, Southern Utah
Distance, Black Creek, B.C.

Levins swept NCAA Outdoor crowns at 5000 and 10,000 meters this season, becoming the first to do so since 2009 when The Bowerman winner from that year – Oregon’s Galen Rupp – did so in Fayetteville, Ark. Using a 58.06 final lap split, he maintained his two-second lead to take the 10k title in 28:07.14, the best time in meet history since 1984. In the 5000, Levins closed in 54.28 on the final lap and 1:59.66 over the last 800 meters, to win by over a second (13:40.05).

Earlier in the season, on two consecutive weekends, Levins jumped into the record books with big runs at the Mt. SAC Relays and Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. At the Mt. SAC Relays, Levins would outrun Arizona’s Lawi Lalang in a 5000-meter thriller to clock the NCAA’s best time of the season, 13:18.47. The mark is fifth all-time in the collegiate ranks and the fastest by a collegian since 2008. At the Payton Jordan meet, Levins would run another winning race against a stout field of pros and collegians with a 10k world-leading run of 27:27.96, topping Sam Chelanga and Stanford’s Chris Derrick among others. The time of 27:27.96 is also No. 2 on the all-time collegiate list.

Two weeks removed from the Payton Jordan meet, Levins competed in five races at the Summit League Outdoor Championships and swept the finals of the 1500, 5000, and 10k. He was named the meet’s track MVP.

Indoors, at the NCAA Championships, he placed third in the 3000 meters and fourth in the 5000 meters. He was named the Summit League’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after taking home four conference titles with victories in the 800, Mile, 3000, and 5000. He was the top collegian in the 3000 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston where he ran 7:45.75, the fastest time by a collegian since 2009 and eighth-fastest all-time. At the Millrose Games, Levins placed seventh overall in the Mile with a run of 3:57.16.

Levins is the first from Southern Utah and the Summit League to be represented as a finalist for The Bowerman.


Tony McQuay, Florida
Sprints, Riviera Beach, Fla. (Suncoast HS)

McQuay helped lead the Gators to their first NCAA Outdoor team title with a national crown in the 400 meters and as anchor of the 4x400 relay that took victory. In the 400, McQuay claimed top honors with the season’s collegiate best time of 44.58 seconds, just ahead of Oregon’s Mike Berry. In the 4x400, McQuay literally clinched the team title for the Gators. Taking the baton in second place, Florida, down two points heading into the meet’s final event, needed to win the relay to secure at least a share of the team crown. McQuay, with a 44.01 split, fired past Southern California’s Bryshon Nellum to take the tape. Because LSU finished third in the relay, the Gators managed a four-point swing, enough to place Florida on top of the point standings.

He was the winner of the 400 meters at the SEC Championships, as part of an outdoor undefeated season in the event, in 45.48 and also led Florida to the SEC crown in the 4x400. The 4x400 squad also won the Drake Relays title.

McQuay is the first since 2008 to sweep NCAA indoor and outdoor 400-meter crowns. He won the national indoor title in the season’s best by a collegian, 45.77.

Shortly after turning professional, he placed second at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400 meters and will be a member of Team USA’s London contingent.

McQuay is the second from Florida to be named a finalist for The Bowerman, joining jumper Christian Taylor (2011).


Andrew Riley, Illinois
Sprints/Hurdles, Kingston, Jamaica

Riley became the first in NCAA Division I history to win the 100 meters and 110 hurdles at the same outdoor national championships.

Riley, USTFCCCA’s National Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, won the 100 meters in one of the closest finishes in NCAA meet history. Riley forged through a headwind of 2.3 meters per second (5.14 mph) to best Auburn’s Harry Adams by two thousandths of a second (10.272 to 10.274) and Florida State’s Maurice Mitchell by five thousands of a second (10.277). Riley entered the NCAA Championships as the 31st overall seed, out of 96 contestants, with a personal best clinched earlier in the season of 10.28. In the meet’s first round, Riley clocked 10.19 and then won his quarterfinal heat in a wind-aided 10.03 seconds. At the finals site, Riley had a real breakthrough, clocking a new personal best of 10.02 in the semifinal.

In the 110 hurdles, Riley, the 2010 NCAA champ, won each of the NCAAs four rounds and clocked 13.53 in the final, despite 3.5 meters per second headwind (7.83 mph). Riley won by seven hundredths of a second over Texas A&M’s Wayne Davis II (13.60). Earlier in the season, Riley clocked the collegiate-leading time of 13.28 at the John McDonnell Invitational, moving to No. 8 on the all-time collegiate performance list.

Riley also helped Illinois to the national final of the 4x100.

Riley was named the Big Ten Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Championships after claiming three conference titles. Riley won the 100 meters, 110 hurdles, and led off the Illini’s 4x100 relay to the league crown.

Indoors, Riley was second at the NCAA meet in the 60 and fourth in the 60 hurdles. He claimed Big Ten indoor crowns in the 60 and 60 hurdles.

Riley was named Illinois’ all-sport Athlete of the Year and was a nominee for the Jesse Owens Award – the Big Ten’s all-sport Athlete of the Year award.

Riley is the first from Illinois and the Big Ten Conference to be a finalist for The Bowerman.


THE BOWERMAN FINALISTS, 2012 WOMEN

Brigetta Barrett, Arizona
Jumps, Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville HS)

With sweeps of NCAA high jump crowns in the indoor and outdoor seasons, Barrett became the first woman in DI history to earn dual-season titles in back-to-back years, a combination of four consecutive national titles between the seasons.

For the indoor NCAA meet, Barrett cleared 6-5 (1.96m) – tied for the seventh-best mark in collegiate history – to take the crown and was one of only two to clear a bar at more than six feet that day. At the outdoor national championships, Barrett won with a clearance of 6-4 (1.93m).

Barrett cleared 6-5½ (1.97m) at the indoor Razorback Invitational in January. That leap tied Barrett for the second-best mark in indoor collegiate history and was the best among the collegiate ranks since 2009 when The Bowerman finalist Destinee Hooker cleared 6-6 (1.98m) to win the NCAA title.

Barrett was undefeated in both seasons with five indoor wins and seven outdoor victories. In nine of those meets, Barrett cleared 6-4 (1.93m) or better to win.

Dating back to 2011, Barrett has won 17-straight competitions versus collegiate competition. Her last loss in the collegiate season was to Washington State’s Holly Parent, based on misses, at the Jim Click Shootout on April 2, 2011. In both 2011 and 2012, no one has cleared a bar higher than Barrett in a competition. She was the Pac-12 Champion for the second-consecutive season as well.

Barrett is the first from Arizona to be a finalist for The Bowerman.


Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU
Sprints, Katy, Texas (Cypress Springs HS)

After the 2012 year, Duncan is the first woman in NCAA Division I to win back-to-back indoor and outdoor national titles in the 200 meters. That’s four straight national crowns in the event for Duncan who still has senior eligibility remaining in 2013. Duncan is the first woman in award history to be a two-time finalist.

All told, Duncan now has six NCAA titles to her credit – four with the 200 meters and two with the 4x100 relay.

This season, Duncan contributed 20½ points to LSU’s claim of the NCAA outdoor team title, winning the 200 meters, finishing runner-up in the 100, and anchoring the Lady Tigers to victory in the 4x100 relay. She crushed the field in each of the NCAA’s four rounds in the 200 meters, winning each race by at least three tenths of a second. In the event’s final, Duncan clocked 22.86 despite a 2.3 meters-per-second headwind. In the national semifinal Duncan claimed a new low-altitude all-time collegiate best time of 22.19 seconds -- a time that is dubbed as the second-fastest time in collegiate history.

In anchoring LSU to their second-straight 4x100 relay national crown, the squad claimed the collegiate-best time of the year and seventh fastest in collegiate history with a 42.68-second readout in the semifinals. The finals time of 42.75 is now the eighth-fastest time in collegiate history.

Indoors, Duncan notched her second-consecutive 200-meter title with a 2012 world-best time of 22.74. Duncan became the first to win back-to-back national indoor crowns in the event since LSU’s Muna Lee (2002-03). Duncan also claimed an eighth-place finish at the national championships in the 60 meters.

Duncan had a full season – 65 races in all, including 40 during the outdoor campaign. She was undefeated against collegiate competition in the 200, winning six finals indoors and four outdoors. She ran in 13 of LSU’s 4x100s, anchored 12, and lost just once. Combining all finals in individual events and relays during the outdoor season, Duncan went 20-for-24. She only lost once in the 100 meters and that was for second in the national final, once in the 4x400, once in the 4x100, and once in the sprint medley relay – both for second place at the Penn Relays.

At the Texas Relays, Duncan won the 100 meters with a wind-aided time of 10.94.  In addition, Duncan helped LSU to a Texas Relays sweep of the 4x100, 4x200, and sprint medley relay and was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet for her efforts. At the Penn Relays, Duncan and LSU won the 4x200 relay and finished runner up in the 4x100 and sprint medley.

She was named the SEC’s Outdoor Co-Women’s Runner of the Year, claiming conference crowns in the 100, 200, and as anchor of the 4x100. Indoors, she was the league champ in the 200 and was runner-up in the 60.

Duncan was named the Honda Sport Award Winner for women’s track & field for the 2012 season and was the coaches’ choice for USTFCCCA Outdoor National Track Athlete of the Year.

Duncan is the first woman in award history to be a two-time finalist.


Brianne Theisen, Oregon
Combined Events, Humboldt, Saskatchewan (Humboldt Collegiate Institute)

Theisen added two more NCAA titles to her trophy case in 2012 by again winning national crowns in the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon. It was Theisen’s third claim to national glory in both events. Among NCAA Division I women, Theisen is now tied for fourth on the all-time championship-titles list, including relays and across both indoor and outdoor track & field. She only trails Texas’ Carlette Guidry (12), Texas’ Suziann Reid (10), and Wisconsin’s Suzy Favor (9) in career national crowns.

Indoors, Theisen won the national crown with 4,536 points, joining Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson (2006-07-08) as the only other three-time champion in the event.

Outdoors, she won with a personal best and second-best score in collegiate and NCAA meet history – 6,440 points, joining Houston’s Jolanda Jones (1986-87-89) and Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson (2006-07-08) as a three-time heptathlon titlists. Theisen used personal bests in the 100 hurdles (13.30), shot put (42-4¾, 12.92m), long jump (20-7¼, 6.28m), and javelin (152-2, 46.38m) to compile her winning score.

In January, at Texas A&M’s Mondo Challenge, Theisen broke her own collegiate record in the pentathlon for the third time with a tally of 4,555. In that event’s high jump portion, Theisen cleared 6-2 (1.88m) and finished the season tied for second among all collegians with that mark. Theisen’s 4,555 also broke the Canadian record of 4,550 that was set in 1982.

The Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Year, she won the Pac-12 title in the heptathlon (6,353) for the third time. Theisen was also named the USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor National Field Athlete of the Year.

Theisen completed the heptathlon at the Canadian Olympic Trials and finished second to make her first Olympic team. Theisen scored 6,393 points behind Jessica Zelinka who reset her own Canadian record with 6,599.

Theisen is the first Oregon woman to be named a finalist for The Bowerman.

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THE BOWERMAN PAST FINALISTS

MEN

2009
Winner: Galen Rupp, Oregon
Finalist: Ashton Eaton, Oregon
Finalist: German Fernandez, Oklahoma State 

2010
Winner: Ashton Eaton, Oregon
Finalist: Andrew Wheating, Oregon
Finalist: Ryan Whiting, Arizona State 

2011
Winner: Ngoni Makusha, Florida State
Finalist: Jeshua Anderson, Washington State
Finalist: Christian Taylor, Florida

 

WOMEN

2009
Winner: Jenny Barringer, Colorado
Finalist: Destinee Hooker, Texas
Finalist: Porscha Lucas, Texas A&M

2010
Winner: Queen Harrison, Virginia Tech
Finalist: Lisa Koll, Iowa State
Finalist: Blessing Okagbare, UTEP 

2011
Winner: Jessica Beard, Texas A&M
Finalist: Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU
Finalist: Tina Sutej, Arkansas

ABOUT THE BOWERMAN

The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athlete in the nation. The award is named for is named for legendary Oregon track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman.

Florida State’s Ngoni Makusha and Texas A&M’s Jessica Beard are the reigning winners of The Bowerman. Makusha won bronze in the long jump at 2011 World Championships.

Past winners include decathlon world-record holder Ashton Eaton (2010) and 2011 World Champion at 1500 meters, Jenny Simpson (2009).

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 trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org.

WINNER SELECTION PROCESS

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 (10 members)

•                    Select media personnel, statisticians, and collegiate administrators

•                    Galen Rupp, 2009 men’s winner of The Bowerman

•                    Ashton Eaton, 2010 men’s winner of The Bowerman

•                    Ngoni Makusha, 2011 men’s winner of The Bowerman

•                    Jenny (Barringer) Simpson, 2009 women’s winner of The Bowerman

•                    Queen Harrison, 2010 women’s winner of The Bowerman

•                    Jessica Beard, 2011 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 the coming weeks while online voting will begin on Monday, July 9 and will last until Tuesday, July 24. An independent accounting firm will collect, tabulate, and certify final results and will keep the result secret until the envelope is opened in December.

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% 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.