Oregon's Raevyn Rogers and Tennessee's Christian Coleman receive The Bowerman...

PHOENIX—Raevyn Rogers of the University of Oregon (left/photo courtesy USTFCCCA) and Christian Coleman of the University of Tennessee were named the recipients of The Bowerman Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding collegiate track and field athlete in 2017 at a ceremony held at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix Friday night.

Rogers went 5-1 in 800 meter finals in the 2017 season, with her only loss a DNF at the MPSF championship meet in Seattle .  She set a collegiate record of 1:59.10 at the Mt. SAC Relays, and won both the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles at 800 meters.

Just as impressive as Rogers’ win at the national outdoor championships on her home track at Historic Hayward Field was her 49.77 anchor leg to give the Ducks the victory in the 4 x 400 meter relay, and give Oregon the first Triple Crown in NCAA Division I women’s history, as no school had ever won the cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field titles in the same academic year.

Rogers is the third female athlete from the University of Oregon to win the Bowerman, joining 2014 winner Laura Roesler, and 2015 winner Jenna Prandini.

Coleman became the second man in NCAA D1 history to win the 60/200 double indoors after Justin Gatlin, and the eighth man to run a sub-10/sub 20 second double in the same day at the SEC championships.

Coleman won both the 100 and the 200 at the NCAA outdoor championships in Eugene, running 10.04 and 20.25, and broke the collegiate record in the 100 in the semis, running 9.82.

Christian Coleman (l) and Usain Bolt in the finals of the
men's 100m at the world championships in London
(Paul Merca photo)

He then finished second in the USA outdoor championships in both the 100 and 200, then finished second in the 100 meters at the IAAF world championships behind fellow Tennessee alum Justin Gatlin.

Between the indoor and outdoor seasons, Coleman became a bit of an internet sensation when he ran a 4.12 40 yard dash to beat the 4.22 run by University of Washington receiver John Ross at the NFL combine.

Coleman becomes the first athlete from the University of Tennessee to win the Bowerman Award.

The other finalists were hammer thrower Maggie Ewen of Arizona State and triple jumper Keturah Orji of Georgia, and 400 meter Fred Kerley and decathlete Lindon Victor of Texas A&M.

All six athletes broke a collegiate record during the 2017 indoor and outdoor season.

Rogers and Kerley won the fan vote in late June.

The Bowerman Award is presented by the USTFCCCA and is voted upon by a panel of national and regional media personnel, track & field statisticians, NCAA administrators, past winners, and presidents of affiliated organizations.  USTFCCCA members collectively receive one vote, and fans collectively receive one vote.

NOTE:  The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.  Paul Merca of paulmerca.blogspot.com is one of the national media voters of The Bowerman.