The Bowerman: Men’s Pre-NCAA Indoor Championships Watch List

NEW ORLEANS – Something has got to give.

There is still minimal separation between the men in the running for The Bowerman.

That much can be ascertained seeing that 17 men received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee prior to the release of the Pre-NCAA Indoor Championships Watch List on Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Rules state that only ten men can land on any edition of the Watch List at a time, though, so here they are in alphabetical order: Mykolas Alekna of California, Drew Bosley of Northern Arizona, Sean Burrell of LSU, Cameron Crump of Mississippi State, Anass Essayi of South Carolina, Kyle Garland of Georgia, Elija Godwin of Georgia, Sondre Guttormsen of Princeton, Dylan Jacobs of Tennessee and Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas.

The Bowerman – collegiate track & field’s highest honor – will be awarded in December at the USTFCCCA Convention in Denver, Colorado. Only marks from the 2023 indoor or outdoor collegiate track & field seasons are to be considered for the award.

Alekna, who hails from Vilnius, Lithuania, redefined collegiate discus throwing in 2022. Try this on for size: Alekna posted eight of the top-12 marks in collegiate history, including the collegiate record of 68.73m (225-6) that he whirled at the Pac-12 Outdoor Championships. That effort is also the farthest heave by a collegian in any setting (2013 The Bowerman finalist Julian Wruck launched the disc 68.16m (223-8) at a meet nine years ago that was deemed an exhibition by USTFCCCA standards). Alekna also has the Nos. 2, 4, 7-8, 10-12 all-time marks. He finished runner-up at the NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field. This is Alekna’s sixth career appearance on the Watch List.

Bosley, who hails from Thiensville, Wisconsin, broke the collegiate record in the 3000 meters earlier this season with his 7:36.42 effort at the John Thomas Terrier Classic. That shaved more than two seconds off the previous all-time best of 7:38.13 established by Yared Nuguse last year. Back in December, Bosley moved up to No. 6 on the all-time collegiate chart in the 5000 meters when he PR’d in 13:13.26 at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston.

Burrell, who hails from Zachary, Louisiana, has competed five times this indoor season – three times on a relay team and twice in an open 400. His best mark in the open 400 was his 46.37 clocking at the Razorback Invitational back in late January. Burrell is more known for sprinting 400 meters and clearing ten hurdles in succession, which is an event in which he has won back-to-back NCAA titles and could be one of the first in a while to capture three in a row. This is Burrell’s seventh career Watch List appearance.

Crump, who hails from Sarah, Mississippi, and makes his Watch List debut, soared into the collegiate record book this past weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships. The Mississippi State jumper won the long jump title with a majestic effort of 8.39m (27-6½) to equal the fifth-best performer in collegiate history and notch the second-best leap by a collegian since 2002. Crump needed every bit of that mark since Wayne Pinnock of Tennessee also found his way into the all-time top-10 at 8.31m (27-3¼).  

Essayi, who hails from Morocco, and makes his Watch List debut, is one of the fastest men in collegiate history in both the mile and the 3000. Back in mid-January, Essayi opened the season with a 7:41.93 effort at the Dr. Sander Invitational/Columbia Challenge that put him sixth on the all-time chart. Then two weeks later, Essayi covered the mile distance in 3:50.46 to come within 0.11 seconds of tying Cooper Teare’s collegiate record that seemed insurmountable at the time he set in back in 2021.

Garland, who hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has focused on individual events ever since amassing 6415 points in the heptathlon at the Texas Tech Open & Multi to record the second-best total in collegiate history behind 2010 The Bowerman winner Ashton Eaton. During that multi, Garland turned in a historic first day, compiling 3732 points for an all-time collegiate best four-event total. Most recently at the SEC Indoor Championships, Garland finished sixth in both the 60-meter hurdles (7.77 PB) and the long jump (7.95m/26-1 PB). This is Garland’s fifth career Watch List appearance.

Godwin, who hails from Covington, Georgia, and makes his Watch List debut, won the 400-meter title at the SEC Indoor Championships this past weekend in 44.75, which made him the fifth-best performer with the fifth-best performance in collegiate history. The Georgia sprinter heads into the NCAA Indoor Championships on a roll, having won the 400 in each of the past three meets.

Guttormsen, who hails from Ski, Norway, keeps raising the bar. The Princeton standout topped 5.90m (19-4¼) at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic back in early February to become the No. 5 performer in collegiate history with the eighth-best performance. That came not long after he hit 5.84m (19-2) at the H-Y-P meet to crack the top-10 for the first time at No. 7. This is Guttormsen’s third career Watch List appearance.

Jacobs, who hails from Orland Park, Illinois, and makes his Watch List debut, has been a terror to the collegiate record book in both the 3000 and 5000 this season. In back-to-back meets, the Tennessee phenom cracked the all-time top-5 in both the 3000 (No. 2, 7:36.89) and 5000 (No. 3, 13:11.01). That effort in the 3000 narrowly missed the collegiate record of 7:36.42 set by fellow Watch List member Bosley.

Owens-Delerme, who hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, finally debuted in the heptathlon at the SEC Indoor Championships this past weekend. The Arkansas star, who was a finalist for The Bowerman in 2022, ran away with the crown as he scored 6237 points for the sixth-best effort in collegiate history. Owens-Delerme PR’d in the long jump during the multi at 7.70m (25-3¼). This is Owens-Delerme’s tenth career Watch List appearance, making him the 51st athlete to hit double figures.

Here are the seven men who received votes, but not enough to land on the Watch List: Matthew Boling of Georgia, Jordan Geist of Arizona, Jaydon Hibbert of Arkansas, Terrence Jones of Texas Tech, Jacory Patterson of Florida, Joe Waskom of Washington and Micah Williams of Oregon.

The next Watch List will be released on March 23.