JuVaughn Harrison and Athing Mu receive The Boweman as 2021's most outstanding collegians...

ORLANDO--LSU's JuVaughn Harrison and Texas A&M's Athing Mu were named the recipients of the 2021 Bowerman Award as the nation's most outstanding collegiate track and field athletes by the USTFCCCA at the close of its national convention Friday night.

Harrison (Paul Merca photo), who beat out Oregon's Cole Hocker and Arizona State's Turner Washington for the award, stood out from his peers during the 2021 collegiate track & field seasons thanks to an unprecedented level of success. Not only did he become the first athlete in NCAA DI history to win both the high jump and long jump in the same year at the NCAA Indoor Championships, but he also doubled back to complete the sweep once again at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, giving him four NCAA titles in 2021.

While accomplishments after the collegiate season were not considered by the panel of Bowerman voters across the country, Harrison won both the high and long jumps at the US Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene. He finished seventh in the high jump, and fifth in the long jump at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Mu (Paul Merca photo), who won the award over her teammate Tyra Gittens, and Tara Davis of the University of Texas, obliterated collegiate records in both the 600 (1:25.80) and 800 (1:58.40) with additional all-time top-10 efforts in each event. Between those, Mu went 50.52 over 400 meters for the fifth-fastest performance in collegiate indoor history. Mu would later finish runner-up in that event at the NCAA Indoor Championships and anchored the Aggies to 4×400 victory with a 49.54 split, the fastest ever recorded in world history.

Outdoors, she set the collegiate record in the 800, running 1:57.73, and broke the collegiate record in the 400 twice during the season, including a 49.57 to win the 400 at the NCAA championships in Eugene.

Mu went on to win the US Olympic Trials in the 800 meters, and followed it up by winning the gold medal at that distance at the Tokyo Olympics, en route to being named the recipient of World Athletics' Rising Star award.

The USTFCCCA's releases are located on The Bowerman home page.

NOTE: The USTFCCCA, and the sports information offices of LSU and Texas A&M contributed to this report.

Publisher Paul Merca is a voting media member of The Bowerman.

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