The Bowerman: 2022 Women’s Watch List Update #6

NEW ORLEANS – Two athletes make their debut on The Bowerman Women’s Watch List as the Post-Conference Championships version was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Katelyn Tuohy of NC State and Britton Wilson of Arkansas join eight returners in Alia Armstrong of LSU, Anna Hall of Florida, Jasmine Moore of Florida, Favour Ofili of LSU, Camryn Rogers of California, Abby Steiner of Kentucky, Jorinde van Klinken of Arizona State and Courtney Wayment of BYU.

Florida and LSU both have two athletes on the Watch List – the second-straight occurrence for the Tigers, while the Gators have had at least two athletes on every Watch List this year.

Armstrong, who hails from New Orleans, Louisiana, won her first SEC hurdles title in running a wind-aided 12.46. She’s run much faster, as she won the Texas Relays earlier this year in a wind-aided 12.33 – the fastest time ever by a collegian considering all conditions. Armstrong has won all but one of the hurdle races she’s finished this year and had an indoor best of 7.81, making her No. 3 all-time collegian. The SEC Indoor champ in the 60, she leads off LSU’s 4×100 relay, which won the SEC title in a seasonal-best 42.59. This is Armstrong’s third career Watch List appearance.

Hall, who hails from Highland Ranch, Colorado, made more history in her latest heptathlon, winning the USATF Championships with a score of 6458 to become No. 2 all-time collegian. This score – as well as her previous best of 6412 (No. 5 all-time performance) – both saw her finishing with the fastest 800 in a heptathlon, 2:03.11 after her previous 2:04.61. The NCAA Indoor champ in the pentathlon owns the No. 4 score in that multi all-time among collegians, also with its best-ever 800 record by a collegian (2:05.33). A week after her latest heptathlon, she concentrated on a pair of individual events at the SEC Outdoor Championships, lowing her 400 hurdles PR to 54.91 (No. 2 nationally this year) and improving her long jump PR to 6.42m (21-0¾). Hall also has a wind-aided 6.74m (22-1½) long jump from earlier this year. This is Hall’s eighth career appearance on the Watch List.

Moore, who hails from Grand Prairie, Texas, swept the long jump and triple jump at the SEC Outdoor Championships, adding to her sweeps at the NCAA Indoor and SEC Indoor championships. At the SEC Outdoor, Moore’s winning triple jump was a wind-aided 14.46m (47-5¼) to make her No. 3 all-time on the outdoor collegiate all-conditions list. She’s gone even farther, however, with her indoor CR of 14.57m (47-9¾), a performance only surpassed (indoors or outdoors) in the collegiate ranks by 2018 The Bowerman winner Keturah Orji with her outdoor CR or 14.62m (47-11¾). Moore is undefeated in the triple jump this year with only one loss in the long jump, an event in which she has spanned a best of 6.82m (22-4½) this year that is just off her PR of 6.83m (22-5) from last year. This is Moore’s seventh appearance on the Watch List.

Ofili, who hails from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, swept the 100 and 200 at the SEC Outdoor Championships in highly-anticipated races with fellow Watch List member Steiner. In the 100, she equaled her PR of 10.93, although that wind reading (-0.7) was not as favorable as in her previous 10.93 (2.0). That also avenged her only loss to a collegian in the 100 this year, having lost to Steiner in early April. In the 200, she clocked 22.04, the =No. 3 performance all-time collegiately – she, of course, owns one of the faster performances with her CR 21.96 in mid-April. Her SEC races came after running the second leg on LSU’s 4×100 relay, which the Tigers won in a seasonal-best 42.59. Ofili also ran a wind-aided 10.90 in April. Indoors, she was runner-up in the NCAA 200 while taking seventh in the 60. This is Ofili’s third Watch List appearance.

Rogers, who hails from Richmond, British Columbia, added to her domination in the hammer throw with a third Pac-12 title in the event. The two-time reigning NCAA champ now has the farthest seven throws of the year, topped by her CR of 75.73m (248-5) in mid-April. Rogers had the previous collegiate best (and the one before that, both from last year). She owns six of the nine longest efforts in collegiate history, four of which she recorded this spring. Indoors, she moved to =No. 10 collegian all-time in the weight throw at 24.06m (78-11¼) in finishing third at the NCAA Indoor Championships. A semifinalist for The Bowerman last year, Rogers now has nine career Watch List appearances.

Steiner, who hails from Dublin, Ohio, ran her second-fastest times in the 100 and 200 in finishing second to Ofili in each at the SEC Championships. She added relay legs on the Wildcats’ CR-setting 4×400 (3:21.93) and second-place 4×100 (42.63). Outdoors she is No. 4 collegian all-time in the 200 at 22.05 and can add the No. 6 performance (22.07). At the same distance indoors, Steiner won the NCAA title and ran the three fastest collegiate times ever, topped by her CR 22.09. She has more sub-22.10 times (three) than any other collegian combining indoors and outdoors. In the 100, Steiner rates =No. 7 all-time at 10.92. This is the 11^th career Watch List appearance for Steiner.

Tuohy, who hails from Stony Point, New York, is the first athlete from NC State to be named to The Bowerman Watch List. She leads the collegiate lists in both the 1500 and 5000. In the 1500, she won the ACC Championships in 4:06.84 to move to No. 7 all-time collegiately. Two weeks earlier she split the fastest 1500 time (4:09.8) on the Wolfpack’s runner-up 4×1500 squad at the Penn Relays, as both Arkansas and NC State dipped under the collegiate record. In April, she won the 5000 at the Virginia Challenge by over 11 seconds in 15:14.61, making her No. 8 all-time collegiately. Indoors, Tuohy was NCAA runner-up in both the 3000 and 5000.

van Klinken, who hails from Assen, The Netherlands, swept the shot put and discus at the Pac-12 Championships, continuing a year in which she hasn’t lost to a collegian in either event (including the shot indoors). She is most dominant in the discus, sailing the platter over 200 feet in all five of her meets thus year – owning the 14 longest throws of the year with the best at 64.75m (212-5). That mark is just short of the 65.01m (213-4) she used in a come-from-behind victory in last year’s NCAA Championships that makes her No. 4 all-time collegiately. van Klinken gained respect in the shot put indoors, winning the NCAA title after moving to No. 6 all-time collegian indoors at 19.08m (62-7¼) (her outdoor best is 18.45m/60-6½). Last year she also had an exhibition effort in the discus of 70.22m (230-4), the farthest throw by a collegian regardless of conditions. A semifinalist for The Bowerman last year, van Klinken now has eight career Watch List appearances.

Wayment, who hails from Layton, Utah, has been quiet most of this month, but she’s made plenty of noise already. Her last major accomplishment came when she anchored BYU to the school’s first-ever Penn Relays title as the Cougars won the distance medley relay in 10:50.22, with Wayment clocking 4:32.39 for the 1600 leg. Her impressive range extends to the 5000, in which she won the NCAA Indoor title in March, and includes the 3000, in which she finished fourth (she’s No. 7 all-time collegian indoors in both). Nowhere is she higher all-time than in the steeplechase – she won the Mt. SAC Relays in 9:26.88, moving to No. 3 all-time during the collegiate season, and owns the fastest-ever collegiate time on an all-dates basis with her 9:23.09 from last summer. She was a semifinalist for The Bowerman last year and now has nine career Watch List appearances.

Wilson, who hails from Henrico, Virginia, was a virtual blur three times at the SEC Championships. First she won the 400 in 50.05, moving to No. 6 all-time collegiately. An hour later she won the 400 hurdles in a world-leading 53.75, also good for No. 6 all-time among collegians. Less than 90 minutes later came another fast lap – that being a 48.60 split that is the fastest ever by a collegian. Her heroic anchor leg wasn’t enough for Arkansas to win, but they did become the third-fastest 4×400 program in collegiate history at 3:22.55. Wilson is the tenth Lady Razorback to be named to The Bowerman Watch List in the award’s history, as Arkansas is now tied with LSU and Texas all-time – only Oregon (16) and Texas A&M (14) have more.

Four athletes received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee but fell outside the top-10: Julien Alfred of Texas, Lamara Distin of Texas A&M, Tyra Gittens of Texas and Demisha Roswell of Texas Tech.

The next women’s Watch List is scheduled for June 7.