My 2022 Bowerman Award votes go to...
This award, which has been presented since 2010 at the annual USTFCCCA convention, is college track and field's equivalent to football's Heisman Trophy or basketball's Wooden Award.
I've been honored to be a media voter for this award almost from the beginning, and take the task of voting seriously. While the vast majority of meets I attend in person are on the West Coast, I try not to let any conference, regional, or fan/social media/message board biases sway who I pick.
All voting members of The Bowerman, which includes past winners, national and regional media personnel, and track & field statisticians, received their ballots from the USTFCCCA shortly after the NCAA championships, and submitted them in July.
“Athletes’ performances during the NCAA indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons shall be considered. An athlete need not have competed in both seasons to be eligible for the award.
“Performances that occur outside the NCAA seasons of indoor track & field and outdoor track & field should not be considered. The performance window for the purposes of The Bowerman runs from December 1 of the preceding year through the respective division’s NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the year in which the award is given.”
In the interest of transparency, I've used my platform on this site to reveal my selections, and the picks for the 2022 season are no different. I've taken a photo of my ballot and posted it as well.
I saw five of the six Bowerman finalists compete at least once during the collegiate season, with Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas being the exception, as he competed on the first two days of the NCAA championships, and I attended the final two days. That said, I saw him compete for Puerto Rico at the world track & field championships, well after the voting period ended.
And now, here's my picks:
MEN:
UPDATE (1:20 pm): The USTFCCCA announced moments ago that Randolph Ross has been removed as a finalist for The Bowerman, meaning that the two finalists are Trey Cunningham and Ayden Owens-Delerme.
In my mind, 110 meter hurdler Trey Cunningham of Florida State (Paul Merca photo) was the most dominant male athlete of the collegiate season, going undefeated against collegiate competition, and only losing once indoors to 2019 Bowerman winner and world champion Grant Holloway in the 60 hurdles at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Staten Island.
During the indoor season, he was under 7.50 seven times, and outdoors, he was under 13.20 six times.
His marks of 7.38 and 13.00 to win the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles are the second fastest in collegiate history.
Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T got my second place vote for going undefeated at 400 meters, winning the NCAA indoor title in 44.62, and the outdoor championship in 44.13.
Decathlete Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas got my third place vote after winning both the indoor heptathlon with a score of 6211, and the decathlon crown, scoring 8457 points.
After the NCAAs, Cunningham finished second at the world championships in 13.08 behind Grant Holloway, while Owens-Delerme was fourth in the decathlon with a personal best 8532 points.
Ross finished third in the 400 at the USATF outdoor championships in 44.17, earning a spot on the world championship team. Shortly before the start of the 400 heats at the world championships, he was given what turned out to be a provisional suspension for what was officially announced Tuesday as a third strike for a whereabouts violation with the Athletics Integrity Unit.
Track & Field News has an exclusive interview with Ross that is posted on their website, where he tells his side of the story. Ross is currently banned for three years, retroactive to July 1st and lasting until June 30, 2025. All results from June 18th of this year are nullified, which essentially wipes out his marks at the USATF champs. His NCAA championship marks still stand.
WOMEN:
Steiner suffered her only loss in the 200 meters outdoors at the SEC championships to Favour Ofili from LSU, which she avenged at the NCAA championships in Eugene, by running a collegiate record 21.80. Steiner was third in the 100 meter dash, and helped the Wildcats win the 4 x 400 relay and got second in the 4 x 100 relay.
Anna Hall of Florida got my second place vote based on winning the pentathlon at both the SEC Indoors and the NCAAs with scores of 4618 and 4586 points, and the USATF (contested in May)/NCAA heptathlon double, winning the former with 6458 points, and the latter with 6385 points.
At the NCAAs, she also got second in the 400 hurdles, running 54.48, after completing the final events of the heptathlon.
Camryn Rogers from Cal received my third place vote, as she finished third in the weight throw with a mark of 78-11.25 (24.06m), and went undefeated in the hammer, winning that event with a collegiate record 254-10 (77.67m).
All three returned to Eugene after the NCAAs to compete at the world championships, with Steiner earning relay gold medals in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400, Rogers earning a silver medal in the hammer, and Hall getting a bronze medal in the heptathlon.
In the fan voting, Cunningham and Steiner won, while in the USTFCCCA membership voting, Ross and Steiner won.
Ross' suspension could potentially produce a public relations dilemma for the USTFCCCA should he win, as there are no provisions in The Bowerman rules for suspensions handed out by the Athletics Integrity Unit, World Athletics, USA Track & Field, and in his case, the US Anti-Doping Agency.
It should be noted that none of those organizations has any jurisdiction over NCAA competition. While it's too early to speculate what the organization will do, this could potentially be revisited by the Bowerman Advisory Board, which is led by Syracuse senior deputy athletics director and 1976 Olympic 4 x 400 relay gold medalist Herman Frazier.
The Bowerman presentation will be streamed by the USTFCCCA on its YouTube channel starting at 6pm Thursday night, hosted by ESPN's John Anderson, and Grant Holloway.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.
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