The Bowerman: 2023 Women’s Post-Outdoor Conference Championships Watch List

NEW ORLEANS – Conference action had a big impact on The Bowerman Women’s Watch List.

Three changes were made – the most all year – as the Post-Outdoor Conference Championship edition was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

New to the list are Alia Armstrong of LSU, Michaela Rose of LSU and Ackelia Smith of Texas. Rose and Smith are making Watch List debuts while Armstrong returns for the first time since the Preseason edition.

Repeating from the last Watch List are Julien Alfred of Texas, Jasmine Moore of Florida, Ackera Nugent of Arkansas, Masai Russell of Kentucky, Katelyn Tuohy of NC State, Jorinde van Klinken of Oregon and Britton Wilson of Arkansas. Four of those – Alfred, Moore, van Klinken and Wilson – have appeared on all seven Watch Lists this year.

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.

Alfred, who hails from Castries, St. Lucia, swept the 100 and 200 at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships with times of 10.84 and 22.28, respectively. She was even faster in the prelims – a wind-aided 10.74 (=No. 2 performance all-time by a collegian under all conditions) and 22.09 (second-fastest of the year). She led of the Texas 4×100 team that lowered their own collegiate record to 41.89. Alfred also has the fastest collegiate all-conditions 100 of all-time at 10.72w from April’s Tom Jones Memorial, when she added the year’s best 200 at 21.91 – second-fastest all-time collegiately behind only 2022 The Bowerman winner Abby Steiner. She was on four winning foursomes at the Texas Relays, with three setting CRs – 42.00 4×100, 1:28.78 4×200 and 3:36.10 sprint medley. She was undefeated indoors, sweeping the NCAA Indoor Championships with CRs in the 60 (6.94) and 200 (22.01). This is Alfred’s 10^th career Watch List appearance.

Armstrong, who hails from New Orleans, Louisiana, won the 100 hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships in 12.40, which made her =No. 3 all-time among collegians. A day earlier, she lowered own all-conditions collegiate best with a wind-aided 12.31 in the prelims, bettering the 12.33w she ran last year. She also ran leadoff leg on LSU’s winning 4×100 relay (42.92). The defending NCAA champion in the 100H, Armstrong is making her sixth career Watch List appearance.

Moore, who hails from Grand Prairie, Texas, swept the long jump and triple jump at the SEC Outdoor Championships – a repeat of her indoor performance. In the long jump she moved to =No. 10 collegian all-time at 6.88m (22-7) – the best of a series with five marks at/over 6.80m (22-3¾) – and she claimed the triple jump at 14.14m (46-4¾) as she registered the year’s two longest outdoor marks by a collegian. Her farthest long jump outdoors came in April at the Tom Jones Memorial with a wind-aided leap of 6.98m (22-11) that makes her No. 5 all-time collegian under all conditions. Last year’s long jump/triple jump NCAA champion outdoors was undefeated this winter indoors and completed a second-straight sweep of the NCAA Indoor Championships, setting CRs of 7.03m (23-0¾) in the long jump and 15.12m (49-7¼) in the triple jump – the latter also breaking the American record. This is Moore’s 15^th career Watch List appearance – second-most of active women.

Nugent, who hails from Kingston, Jamaica, was runner-up in the 100 hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a PR 12.43 in becoming No. 6 collegian all-time. She was also fourth in the 100 in 11.13, just off her 11.12 best. Indoors she won the NCAA Indoor 60 hurdles in a CR 7.72. This is Nugent’s fourth career Watch List appearance.

Rose, who hails from Suffolk, Virginia, won the 800 by over four seconds at the SEC Outdoor Championships in 1:59.73, the No. 8 performance in collegiate outdoor history. That also made her just the second collegian with multiple sub-2 clockings outdoors, joining 2017 The Bowerman winner Raevyn Rogers. Rose’s PR of 1:59.08 came in April and rates her No. 2 collegian all-time behind only 2021 The Bowerman winner Athing Mu. Rose also has a 1:58.40 relay leg to her credit in anchoring LSU to victory in the Texas Relays 4×800. Indoors she moved to No. 4 all-time at 2:00.18 and lost just once, finishing third at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Russell, who hails from Potomac, Maryland, was third in a deep 100 hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships. How deep? Her 12.47 – the =No. 10 performance in collegiate history – made the race the first with three sub-12.50 collegians. Russell set the CR of 12.36 at the Texas Relays, breaking the previous record of 12.39 set by 2013 The Bowerman winner Brianna Rollins. Russell also ran a PR 55.21 for second place in the 400 hurdles at the SEC meet in becoming the year’s second-fastest collegian and ran on Kentucky’s runner-up 4×100 team (42.93). Indoors she was runner-up in the NCAA Indoor 60 hurdles, matching her PR of 7.75 that was a CR when she first ran as fast in January. This is Russell’s sixth career Watch List appearance.

Smith, who hails from Clarendon, Jamaica, swept the long jump and triple jump at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. In the long jump, her best effort of 7.08m (23-2¾) gave her the title by over a foot and moved her to No. 2 collegian all-time behind 2021 The Bowerman finalist Tara Davis. She won the triple jump at 13.75m (45-1½), near her seasonal best of 13.84m (45-5) that won the Texas Relays. Smith was impressive in both jumps at the NCAA Indoor Championships, taking second in the long jump (6.88m/22-7) and third in the triple jump (14.29m/46-10¾) in moving to No. 6 and No. 5, respectively, on the all-time collegiate list.  

Tuohy, who hails from Stony Point, New York, ran two impressive races this month. The first came in the Sound Running Track Fest 5000, where her 15:03.12 broke the 14-year-old CR set by 2009 The Bowerman winner Jenny Barringer. A week later she made her debut in the 10,000, winning the ACC Outdoor Championships in 32:56.75. She is also the fastest collegian this year outdoors in the 1500 with a 4:08.29 in April’s Wake Forest Invitational. Tuohy won a 3000/5000 double at the NCAA Indoor Championships, including the fastest collegiate 3000 time (9:10.07) ever achieved at over 1000 meters (3280 feet) of altitude. She set CRs at three distances earlier in the winter – 1500 meters (4:06.49), mile (4:24.26) and 3000 (8:35.20) – and recorded the distance medley relay’s fastest 1600 collegiate split of 4:23.36. This is Tuohy’s seventh career Watch List appearance.

van Klinken, who hails from Assen, The Netherlands, swept the shot put and discus at the Pac-12 Championships. Her shot put featured an improvement on her outdoor best this year at 18.59m (61-0), and either of her only two discus efforts – the farthest at 63.05m (206-10) – would have won. She owns the year’s six best discus marks by a collegian – all at 63.95m (209-10) or longer. Three of those rate among the all-time collegiate top-10, topped by a 67.05m (220-0) that is the No. 3 all-time performance (she owns the CR of 70.22m/230-5 from two years ago and is a two-time NCAA champion). Indoors she was sixth in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships after earlier setting a CR of 19.57m (64-2½). van Klinken is the active women’s Watch List leader with 16 career appearances.

Wilson, who hails from Henrico, Virginia, set two CRs in sweeping the 400 and 400 hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Amazingly, both CRs came in the same event, winning the 400 final in 49.13 that broke her 49.40 from the prelims. In the 400H, she clocked 53.28 – the No. 4 performance all-time collegiately and just off her 53.23 PR that rates No. 3 – some 90 minutes after the 400 final. She set the previous 400 CR at April’s Tom Jones Memorial at 49.51. Indoors Wilson won the 400 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in a CR (and American record) 49.48 and anchored the Arkansas 4×400 squad with a 49.20 split as the Razorbacks set an all-time world best of 3:21.57. She also set the CR in the 600 at 1:25.16. This is Wilson’s ninth career Watch List appearance.

Three athletes received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee but fell outside the Top 10: Rhasidat Adeleke of Texas, Talitha Diggs of Florida and Axelina Johansson of Nebraska.

The next women’s Watch List is scheduled for June 5.