Last night, the prestigious Bowerman Award went to University of Texas sprinter Julien Alfred and Arkansas’ freshman jumper Jaydon Hibbert. For those who are unfamiliar, The Bowerman is basically the Heisman Trophy of track and field—the highest accolade given to the year’s best collegiate athletes in track and field.
Named after famed Oregon track and cross country coach Bill Bowerman, and awarded by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association since 2009, the honor has been given to such greats as Galen Rupp, Athing Mu, and Sha’Carri Richardson.
Alfred, a St. Lucia native and 14-time All American, has won five NCAA titles (four individual, one relay) and has set two individual and three relay collegiate records. This year, she won both the 100- and 200-meter titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships and was victorious in the 60- and 200-meter at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships as well. The 22-year-old, coached by former Olympian Edrick Floréal, has lowered the 60-meter college record five times, bringing it down to rest—for now—at 6.94, and has accomplished eight of the top 11 marks in collegiate history. Her indoor 200-meter college record of 22.01 is the all-time second fastest in the world.
The graduate student has now become the second female athlete from Texas to win The Bowerman, alongside 2016’s winner, Courtney Okolo.
In her acceptance speech, Alfred teared up thanking Coach Flo—as he’s known to his athletes—saying, “You have molded me into the person I am today. …You’ve been a dad, a mentor, a friend, a coach. And I’ll always be grateful for you taking me under your wing.”
This year’s men’s winner, Hibbert, is the youngest athlete to ever receive The Bowerman, and is also the first male freshman to ever do so. The 18-year-old Razorback from Jamaica has also had a year for the record books, sweeping the NCAA triple jump titles and breaking collegiate records indoors and outdoors that had stood for 35 years, with jumps of 17.54 meters indoors, and 17.87 meters outdoors at the SEC Championships. Both performances also broke World U20 records, and his outdoor jump was the world’s best this year.
Hibbert is the second male Razorback to win The Bowerman, in good company with Jarrion Lawson, the 2016 winner. Wearing a fitted light pink suit with a stylish gold lapel chain to accept his award, “This moment is truly a dream come true,” Hibbert said, “and I could say that it definitely made up for what happened in Budapest”—a reference to the disappointment he faced at this year’s World Championships, when he was forced to withdraw from the triple jump final due to injury. “As I look on the surface of this prestigious award,” he continued, “I see a reflection of a kid that God did not and will not give up on, and is also a reminder of how he can transform you from nothing to something great.”
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
