The Bowerman: 2025 Women’s Semifinalists

NEW ORLEANS – Ten women remain in contention as semifinalists for collegiate track & field’s highest honor – The Bowerman.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced The Bowerman Women’s Watch List Committee’s selections on Wednesday.

The semifinalists are Aaliyah Butler of Georgia, JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina, Pamela Kosgei of New Mexico, Elena Kulichenko of Georgia, Doris Lemngole of Alabama, Mya Lesnar of Colorado State, Amanda Moll of Washington, Hana Moll of Washington, Savannah Sutherland of Michigan and Roisin Willis of Stanford.

Washington is the ninth program in award history to have multiple women’s semifinalists in the same year, while Georgia does so for the fourth time and their first since 2018, when Keturah Orji won The Bowerman.

Collectively this year these semifinalists won 13 individual NCAA titles and made 11 adjustments in four events to the collegiate record book.

Butler, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, completed an undefeated year in the 400 meters in head-to-competition by winning the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships in 49.26 to move to No. 5 all-time collegiately. She was also impressive running with a baton, recording two of the top-4 collegiate carries all-time at 48.79 (NCAA Outdoor) and 48.86 (SEC Outdoor). Indoors she is No. 3 all-time collegiately at 49.78. Her only loss came at the NCAA Indoor to an athlete in a different section.

Ford, who hails from Fayetteville, North Carolina, won the 200 at the NCAA DI Outdoor after finishing runner-up in the 100 by just 0.003 seconds. That came after a stellar display in the semifinals where she ran collegiate yearly-leading marks of 10.87 in the 100 and 21.98 in the 200 – the latter moving her to No. 5 all-time collegiately – while also helping South Carolina make the 4×100 and 4×400 finals. She swept both sprints at the SEC Outdoor Championships and helped the Gamecocks win both relays, including a 49.56 third-leg split in the 4×400. She finished third in the NCAA Indoor 200, an event in which she is undefeated head-to-head indoors and outdoors.

Kosgei, who hails from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya, capped an undefeated collegiate outdoor season with titles in the 5000 and 10,000 at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. The 10k victory came first in meet-record time with the No. 3 all-time collegiate performance time of 31:17.82 (she has No. 2 at 31:02.73). In the 5000 she moved to No. 2 all-time collegiately in winning April’s Bryan Clay Invitational in 14:52.45, missing the CR by just 0.27 seconds. In between her 10k and 5k PRs she won the steeple at the Stanford Invitational in 9:15.93, then No. 2 and now No. 3 all-time collegiately. She had another impressive 10,000 performance, winning the Don Kirby Tailwind Twilight by over five minutes in 31:58.51 – at 5120 feet (1560 meters) of altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico in registering the fastest time for any woman at high altitude outside of Africa. Indoors she was third in the NCAA DI 5000 before taking 11^th in the 3000.

Kulichenko, who hails from Odintsovo, Russia, swept high jump titles at the NCAA DI Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Her 1.96m (6-5) clearance to win the outdoor crown matched her PR as being No. 10 all-time collegiately. Her 1.94m (6-4¼) clearance in tying for the indoor title was just a notch below her indoor best of 1.95m (6-4¾), which has her tied for No. 12 all-time indoors.

Lemngole, who hails from West Pokot County, Kenya, broke the steeple CR for a second time this year in winning the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships, becoming the first collegiate sub-9 steepler at 8:58.15 to chop almost 12 seconds off her 9:10.13 CR in April. Her domination of the event can be shown at least a couple of ways – one with five of top-11 all-time performances, including the last three CRs, and another with winning margins in the steeple this year ranging from 10.53 to 40.77 seconds. Indoors she had a pair of notable 5000-meter races – the first in a CR 14:52.57 in early December and the other in mid-March to win the NCAA DI Indoor title in 15:05.93, the No. 9 all-time performance collegiately. She was also runner-up in the 3000 at the NCAA DI Indoor after earlier moving to No. 5 on the all-time collegiate list at 8:41.83.  

Lesnar, who hails from Alexandria, Minnesota, capped an undefeated outdoor season in the shot putting in winning the title at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships at 19.01m (62-4½). That was the second-longest by a collegian this year behind her own 19.60m (64-3 ½) at the Doug Max Invitational and moved her to No. 3 all-time collegiately with the No. 5 performance all-time. Indoors she had a best of 19.02m (62-5) that just missed her PR 19.10m (62-8) from last year, when she won the NCAA DI Indoor title. She lost just once in the shot indoors this year, finishing fourth at the NCAA DI Indoor.

Amanda and Hana Moll, who hail from Olympia, Washington, are the first siblings and twins to be named semifinalists. It can be difficult telling them apart physically as well as keeping track of their pole vault accomplishments. They split the NCAA DI titles (Amanda winning indoors, Hana outdoors) and are Nos. 1 and 2 all-time both indoors (Amanda over Hana) and outdoors (Hana and Amanda). Head-to-head in collegiate finals this year Amanda had 3-1 advantage indoors while they were 2-2 outdoors.

Amanda raised the CR six times this year – twice outdoors and four times indoors. Her most outdoors of 4.78m (15-8¼) came at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, which was an improvement from two weeks earlier at 4.76m (15-7¼) at the Desert Heat Classic. She finished third at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. Her highest clearance of the year came indoors, with the first absolute collegiate 16-foot performance at 4.91m (16-1¼). She won the NCAA DI Indoor title with a meet record 4.70m (15-5) and finished the undercover season with six of the top-8 all-time performances collegiately.

Hana finished the year with the final CR, raising the outdoor mark to 4.79m (15-8½) that doubled as the DI Outdoor meet record. She’s also a co-holder of the DI Indoor meet record at 4.70m (15-5). Her highest clearance of the year came at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, where her 4.81m (15-9¼) could only have been beaten by a CR, which Amanda cleared for the victory. The only collegian she lost to this year was Amanda.

Sutherland, who hails from Borden, Saskatchewan, broke the CR in the 400 hurdles while winning the NCAA DI Outdoor title in 52.46, slicing 0.31 seconds off the 52.75 set in 2018 by Sydney McLaughlin. She had another sterling race in mid-April, winning the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in 53.46 – her third-fastest all-time and the No. 8 collegiate performance all-time in the first-ever race with three collegiate sub-54 times). Undefeated at all distances outdoors, she recorded a 49.99 second-leg split on Michigan’s program record-setting 4×400 team, which ran 3:29.22 at the NCAA East First Round (after she earlier set a meet record of 54.39 in the 400 hurdles). Indoors the closest race to her specialty was the 400 and she clocked her fastest ever in the event – indoors or outdoors – in placing fourth at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships (her only loss in any individual event all year).

Willis, who hails from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, lowered the 800 meet record to 1:58.13 in winning the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships, leading five collegians under 2 minutes in the first collegiate race with more than two. She became the third-fastest collegian all-time with the No. 3 performance all-time. Earlier in the year was third at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships, a title she won in 2023.