The Bowerman: 2023 Women’s Pre-NCAA Outdoor Championships Watch List

NEW ORLEANS – The finale is on hand.

After months of seemingly endless impressive performances, just one meet remains in the race for The Bowerman as the Pre-NCAA Outdoor Championships edition of The Bowerman Women’s Watch list was released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

There will be no shortage of opportunities to watch this collection in Austin, as all 10 athletes are entered in multiple events (including relays): Rhasidat Adeleke of Texas, Julien Alfred of Texas, Alia Armstrong of LSU, Jasmine Moore of Florida, Ackera Nugent of Arkansas, Masai Russell of Kentucky, Ackelia Smith of Texas, 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 eight Watch Lists this year. In addition, the trio of Adeleke, Alfred and Smith notched some history for Texas, making the Longhorns just the seventh program with three or more women on the same Watch List.

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.

Adeleke, who hails from Dublin, Ireland, will be in the 400 and is part of the Longhorns’ 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams. She moved to No. 2 collegian all-time in the 400 in the West First Round at 49.54, a time that is faster than the collegiate record was at the beginning of the year. It was her second time in sub-50 territory, having run 49.90 in April. She won the event at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships after earlier running a leg on Texas 4×100 team that broke their own CR with a time of 41.89. Adeleke also clocked PRs of 11.31 and 22.38 in the 100 and 200, respectively, this spring and joined fellow Watch List member Alfred on four winning foursomes at the Texas Relays, with three setting CRs – 42.00 4×100 (since broken), 1:28.78 4×200 and 3:36.10 sprint medley. Indoors she set a short-lived CR in the 400 of 50.33 and finished runner-up at the NCAA Championships. This is Adeleke’s fourth career Watch List appearance.

Alfred, who hails from Castries, St. Lucia, is entered in the 100 and 200 and also part of the Longhorns’ 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams. She cruised through the West First Round in the 100 and 200, running a seasonal best 10.83 in the century. She swept the 100 and 200 at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships with times of 10.84 and 22.28, respectively, after prelim clockings of 10.74w (=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 (since broken), 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 11^th career Watch List appearance.

Armstrong, who hails from New Orleans, Louisiana, is in the 100 hurdles – an event she won last year – and is a member of LSU’s 4×100 team. She ran the fastest wind-legal time in the 100 hurdles in the East First Round at 12.59, two weeks after winning 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 the Tigers’ winning 4×100 relay (42.92). Armstrong is making her seventh career Watch List appearance.

Moore, who hails from Grand Prairie, Texas, is defending NCAA champion in the long jump and triple jump. She swept both events 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. She 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 16^th career Watch List appearance – second-most of active women.

Nugent, who hails from Kingston, Jamaica, is in the 100 hurdles and is a member of the Razorbacks’ 4×100 team. She led the West First Round (12.69) and ran leadoff leg for Arkansas on a seasonal-best 4×100 squad (43.03). She was runner-up in the 100 hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a PR 12.43 in becoming No. 6 collegian all-time and added a 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 fifth career Watch List appearance.

Russell, who hails from Potomac, Maryland, is also in the 100 hurdles as well as the 400 hurdles and is a member of the Wildcats’ 4×100 and 4×400 teams. She led the East First Round 100 hurdles in a wind-aided 12.58 after a 12.40w prelim that is the =No. 6 collegiate performance all-time. She was third in a deep 100 hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships in 12.47 – the =No. 10 performance in collegiate history. 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 seventh career Watch List appearance.

Smith, who hails from Clarendon, Jamaica, will be in the long jump and triple jump. She 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, will be in the 1500 and 5000 – two events she’s been successful in this year. A month ago she ran 15:03.12 in the 5000 to break 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 has a seasonal best outdoors in the 1500 at 4:08.29. In the winter Tuohy set CRs at three distances – 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. She 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. This is Tuohy’s eighth career Watch List appearance.

van Klinken, who hails from Assen, The Netherlands, is in the shot put and discus, having won the latter the last two years while at Arizona State. She led both events in the West First Round, including an outdoor PR 19.02m (62-5) in the shot to become No. 6 collegian all-time. She also swept both events at the Pac-12 Championships. She owns the year’s seven best discus marks by a collegian – all at 63.05m (206-10) 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). In the winter 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 17 career appearances.

Wilson, who hails from Henrico, Virginia, is in the 400 and 400 hurdles and may also run on the Razorbacks’ 4×400 team. She led both events in the West First Round in times of 49.51 and 53.71 – times no other collegian has bettered this year. In the case of the 400, it was the =No. 3 collegiate performance all-time as she now owns the top four after setting CRs three times this year – the fastest at 49.13 from the SEC Outdoor Championships (where she also ran 49.40 in the prelims). That was part of a one-lap sweep that included a 53.28in the 400H – 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 10^th career Watch List appearance.

Two athletes received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee but fell outside the Top 10: Axelina Johansson of Nebraska and Michaela Rose of LSU.