The Bowerman Finalists 2021

from Techniques November 2021

USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2021

JUVAUGHAN HARRISON

LSU Harrison, who hails from Huntsville, Alabama, proved himself worthy of the nickname “Mr. Jumps.” Not only did Harrison become the first athlete in NCAA DI history to win both the high jump and long jump in the same year at the NCAA Indoor Championships, but he also doubled back to complete the sweep once again at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, giving him four NCAA titles in 2021. Harrison wrote his name all over the all-time collegiate charts, equaling the second-best clearance in the outdoor high jump at 2.36m (7-8¾) as part of a perfect 7-for-7 effort at the SEC Outdoor Championships and moving up to No. 3 in the indoor long jump at 8.45m (27-8¾) and No. 6 in the outdoor long jump at 8.44m (27-8¼). That mark in the indoor long jump occurred during his winning series at the NCAA Indoor Championships, where Harrison conquered the strongest field in meet history (It was the only final with four men over 8.10m (26-7), besting the previous best of three from 1993).

COLE HOCKER

OREGON Hocker, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, starred in mid-distance and distance events throughout the collegiate track & field cycle. He won three NCAA titles – becoming just the third man in NCAA DI history to sweep the mile and 3000 at the NCAA Indoor Championships and add the 1500 crown outdoors, joining Marty Liquori of Villanova and Joe Falcon of Arkansas – and finished fourth in the outdoor 5000 after doubling back from the 1500 less than two hours earlier. Hocker sizzled the track in each of those title-winning races, setting a meet record in the indoor mile at 3:53.71 and barely missing meet records in both the indoor 3000 and outdoor 1500 by a total of 0.26 seconds. Earlier in the year, Hocker clocked the second-fastest mile in collegiate indoor history (3:50.55) and moved up to No. 8 on the all-time world chart in that event, in addition to helping Oregon set an all-time world best in the DMR with a blistering 2:49.89 opening split for 1200 meters.

TURNER WASHINGTON

ARIZONA STATE Washington, from Tucson, Arizona, became just the third man in NCAA DI history to sweep the indoor and outdoor shot-put titles and add a discus crown all in the same year (John Godina of UCLA and 2010 The Bowerman finalist Ryan Whiting of Arizona State are the others). In a word, though, Washington was dominant in 2021. Washington ended the year with eight of the top-10 seasonal marks in the discus, seven of the top-10 seasonal marks in the outdoor shot put and four of the top-10 seasonal marks in the indoor shot put, including the collegiate record of 21.85m (71-8¼). Don’t forget that Washington also hit a huge mark of 66.26m (217-5) in the discus, which made him the No. 7 performer in collegiate history. That allowed Washington to be the only man in collegiate history with current all-time top-10 efforts in both the discus and any shot put.

TARA DAVIS

TEXAS Davis, who hails from Agoura Hills, California, swept the NCAA long jump titles and unified the collegiate indoor and outdoor records in that event – a combination last seen in the same year by Carol Lewis in 1983. Her collegiate records and first NCAA crown all came within the span of three weeks in March. It was at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where her effort of 6.93m (22-9) not only topped the podium, but broke the collegiate indoor record previously shared by Whitney Gipson and Elva Goulbourne. Just two weeks later, Davis captured the event crown at the Texas Relays with a leap of 7.14m (23-5¼) to smash a 35-year-old collegiate outdoor record held by the legendary Jackie Joyner. Davis’ undefeated outdoor season in the long jump got even better, as she added three marks that equaled the fourth-best performance on the alltime chart. She capped the year with a come-from-behind victory at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where she soared 6.70m (21-11¾) in Round 5 to secure the sweep. Don’t forget that Davis also won the 100 hurdles at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships.

TYRA GITTENS

TEXAS A & M Gittens, from Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, scored the most team points out of any individual at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, regardless of gender. When all was said and done, Gittens amassed 50 points behind three NCAA titles, one runner-up finish and two more third-place efforts. Two of those titles came at the NCAA Indoor Championships where she broke the collegiate record in the pentathlon (4746) on her way to becoming the first athlete in meet history to win both the high jump and pentathlon in the same year. Her historic year continued outdoors, most notably at the SEC Outdoor Championships in College Station, Texas. Gittens totaled 6418 points to move up to No. 3 all-time in the heptathlon and, in doing so, soared 6.96m (22-10) in the long jump and cleared 1.95m (6-4¾) in the high jump to take spots Nos. 4 and 6 on the all-time chart in those events, respectively. If that wasn’t enough, Gittens is the only woman in world history to hit those marks within the confines of a multi. Gittens kept it rolling to win the NCAA heptathlon crown by 118 points in Eugene, Oregon. In addition to those outstanding performances, Gittens finished runner-up in the outdoor long jump and took third in both the indoor long jump and outdoor high jump at the NCAA Championships.

ATHING MU

TEXAS A & M Mu, a native of Trenton, New Jersey, accumulated four collegiate records and 10 all-time top-10 marks in individual events during her lone collegiate year and added blazing anchor legs to polish off a pair of record-setting relays. Indoors, Mu obliterated collegiate records in both the 600 (1:25.80) and 800 (1:58.40) with additional all-time top-10 efforts in each event. Between those, Mu went 50.52 over 400 meters for the fifth-fastest performance in collegiate indoor history. Mu would later finish runner-up in that event at the NCAA Indoor Championships and anchored the Aggies to 4×400 victory with a 49.54 split, the fastest ever recorded in world history. It didn’t take long for Mu to leave her mark outdoors, unifying the 800-meter collegiate records with a scintillating 1:57.73 effort in mid-April at the Michael Johnson Invitational. That would be Mu’s last 800 as a collegian as she eschewed the event to focus on the 400 in the postseason. Mu targeted 2016 The Bowerman winner Courtney Okolo’s collegiate record in the event of 49.71 and got progressively quicker each time out: 50.04 in the prelims at the SEC Outdoor Championships; 49.84 in the final at the SEC Outdoor Championships; 49.68, to break the collegiate record, at the NCAA DI West Preliminary Round in College Station, Texas; 49.57, to win her only NCAA individual title and lower the CR, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.