The Bowerman: 2011 Women Semi-Finalist Announced, by USTFCCCA, note by Larry Eder

On the web …

http://www.thebowerman.org/news/womens-semifinalists-for-the-bowerman-2011-announced

Women’s Semifinalists for The Bowerman 2011 Announced

Three finalists chosen from the list of ten will be named on Thursday, July 14

June 21, 2011

NEW ORLEANS –
The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee in conjunction with the U.S. Track
& Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced
on Tuesday the ten female semifinalists for collegiate track &
field’s biggest award – The Bowerman. With the collegiate season
complete, the semifinalists will be evaluated by the ten-person Bowerman
Advisory Board and three finalists will be named from the semifinalist
group on Thursday, July 14.

THE BOWERMAN SEMIFINALISTS, 2011 WOMEN

Nia Ali, Southern California

Senior, Hurdles/Jumps, Philadephia, Pa. (West Catholic HS)

Ali
was the winner of the NCAA outdoor 100-meter hurdle title with a
wind-aided run of 12.63. Ali clocked a personal-best time of 12.77 to
win Pac-10 title and is currently ranked seventh in the world in the
event in 2011. Finishing sixth at the NCAA outdoor meet in the high
jump, Ali once leapt over six feet this season (6-1¼, 1.86m) to finish
second in the Pac-10 to Arizona’s Brigetta Barrett. Ali was also an NCAA
qualifier indoors in the 60-meter hurdles.

Brigetta Barrett, Arizona

Sophomore, Jumps, Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville HS)

Barrett
claimed NCAA high jump titles in both the indoor and outdoor seasons to
join six others that have accomplished the same feat (most recently,
Texas’ Destinee Hooker in 2009). Barrett cleared six feet or more in
each of her 11 competitions and notched an all-around personal best of
6-4 (1.93m) to win the Pac-10 title. Barrett won 10 of 11 meet crowns in
the high jump during both indoor and outdoor seasons.

Jessica Beard, Texas A&M

Senior, Sprints, Euclid, Ohio (Euclid HS)

Beard
became the just the third female in NCAA Division I history, and first
since 1999, to win both 400 national titles in the same year and run on
both winning 4×400 relays at the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor
Championships. Beard, four-time Big 12 indoor 400-meter champ, recorded
the world’s fastest time over the 400-meter distance indoors with a
50.79 clocking to win the national crown. Outdoors, Beard clocked 51.10
for the NCAA win and split 49.13 for the Aggies as anchor of the winning
4×400 relay.

Emma Coburn, Colorado

Junior, Distance, Crested Butte, Colo. (Crested Butte HS)

Coburn
won the NCAA’s 3000-meter steeplechase title in a wire-to-wire, 9:41.14
victory and bettered the field by more than six seconds. Coburn was
undefeated in the steeplechase during the season and clocked a 9:40.51
personal best to win the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational race – a
mark that ranks sixth among collegians all-time. Coburn also finished
eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the mile.

Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU

Sophomore, Sprints, Katy, Texas (Cypress Springs HS)

Duncan
swept the NCAA’s 200-meter titles in 2011 and, in both seasons, notched
world-leading times. Duncan became the sixth woman in NCAA Division I
history and the first since Auburn’s Kerron Stewart in 2007 to sweep
200-meter titles in the same season. Indoors, Duncan won the SEC title
in 22.78 for the world’s best time of the season. Outdoors, Duncan was
undefeated in the 200 meters and clocked a low-altitude collegiate
record (and the third-best overall) with a 22.24 run. Duncan was also
the NCAA’s 100-meter runner-up and anchored the Lady Tigers to an NCAA
title in the 4×100 (42.64).

Jordan Hasay, Oregon

Sophomore, Distance, Arroyo Grande, Calif. (Mission College Prep)

Hasay
won NCAA indoor titles in the mile and 3000 meters, becoming the fifth
overall and the first since Northern Arizona’s Johanna Nilsson (2006) to
claim such a double. Hasay also led the Ducks to a runner-up finish in
the distance medley relay at the national indoor meet. Outdoors, Hasay
finished fourth nationally in the 5000 meters and eighth in the 1500
meters.

Sheila Reid, Villanova

Junior, Distance, Newmarket, Ontario

Reid
tallied three NCAA crowns and five Big East titles during the 2011
track & field seasons. Outdoors, Reid became the first woman in
Division I history to the NCAA’s 1500 and 5000 in the same championship.
Indoors, Reid anchored the Wildcats to the NCAA crown in the DMR and
was second nationally in the 3000 meters. In the Big East, Reid would
also win the 1500-5000 double outdoors and was a three-time titlist
indoors with wins in the 1000 meters, 4×800, and DMR.

Tina Sutej, Arkansas

Junior, Pole Vault, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Gimnazija Bezigrad)

Sutej
set new collegiate records with the pole vault both indoors and
outdoors in 2011. Indoors, Sutej would reach a best of 14-10¾ (4.54m) to
set the new all-time collegiate best in winning the SEC crown and would
go on to win the NCAA title. Outdoors, Sutej again won the SEC league
title with a collegiate-record vault – a clearance of 15-1½ (4.61m).
Overall, Sutej collected 13-straight meet victories before finishing
runner-up at the NCAA outdoor meet, but tied the championship-meet
record with Oregon’s Melissa Gergel who took the crown on virtue of
misses.

Jeneba Tarmoh, Texas A&M

Junior, Sprints, San Jose, Calif. (Mt. Pleasant HS/Tennessee)

Tarmoh
was twice the NCAA’s runner-up in the 200 meters in 2011, matching
performances both indoors and outdoors. Tarmoh did win an NCAA titles
with both indoor and outdoor Aggie 4×400-meter relays and collected
another silver as a member of the 4×100 squad. Tarmoh recorded top-five
world times both indoors and outdoors in the 200 meters, running 22.34
in the national finals to move into the collegiate all-time top ten in
the event. Tarmoh swept Big 12 outdoor 100- and 200-meter sprint titles
and was on Texas A&M’s winning 4×100 relay.

Brianne Theisen, Oregon

Senior, Combined Events, Humboldt, Saskatchewan (Humboldt Collegiate Institute)

Theisen
twice set the collegiate record in the pentathlon in the 2011 indoor
season and won her second-straight NCAA crown in the event. Her score of
4,540 bettered her previous all-time collegiate best mark of 4,507 set
in January at the UW Invitational and ranked among the world’s top five
in the event for the season. Theisen also scored at the NCAA indoor meet
for the second-straight year as a member of Oregon’s 4×400 relay team.
Outdoors, Theisen did not compete as a result of injury.

About The Bowerman

The
Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA
to the top male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the
nation. Oregon’s Ashton Eaton and Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison are the
reigning winners of The Bowerman, which is named for legendary Oregon
track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman.

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 magnificent trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org. Keep up with Bowerman candidates on the USTFCCCA’s weekly results page (http://www.ustfccca.org/weekly-results) and by following the organization’s twitter feed twitter.com/TheBowerman and Facebook page facebook.com/TheBowerman.