The Bowerman Winner Announced on Wednesday

Article and Photo by Arizona Athletics

Phoenix, Ariz. – The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) will announce the 2014 winner of The Bowerman on Wednesday. At 6:25 p.m. MST, the award presentation will be broadcast live on TheBowerman.org. Eight-time NCAA Champion Lawi Lalang is one of three finalists on the men’s side for the second-straight year. The Bowerman Trophy, which was first awarded in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation.

For the women, the nominees in the sixth year of the award are Laura Roesler of Oregon, Courtney Okolo of Texas, and Sharika Nelvis of Arkansas State. The male nominees are Deon Lendore of Texas A&M, Edward Cheserek of Oregon, and Lalang.

Serving as emcee for the proceedings for the first time will be Flocasts’ Ryan Fenton. Reunited with Fenton will be his former broadcast partner at Flotrack, Alex Lohr, who will take on sideline reporter duties for the ceremony.

The athletes will hit the red carpet in Phoenix at 6:25 p.m., where they’ll check in with Lohr and former The Bowerman winner Queen Harrison as they make their way into the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa for the ceremony.

Half an hour later, the ceremony begins and the envelopes get broken. Before the big announcements, Fenton will be joined on-stage by each of the six finalists as they recap and reflect upon their 2013-14 campaigns.

Dozens of media members, statisticians, and college administrators voted this summer, as did all ten past winners.  Fans also collectively received one vote; this summer, 22,000 fans voted and picked Roesler and Lendore.  Each voter filled out a ballot ranking the three athletes, giving three points to their first choice, two points to their second, and one point to their third. The votes were independently tabulated by the Malcolm M. Dienes, LLC accounting firm and the winner will not made known until the ceremony.

Lalang, the eight-time NCAA Champion, claimed one NCAA title during the 2014 season, coming in the 5K at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He won the race in a meet-record time of 13:18.36. Lalang broke the NCAA meet record set by Sydney Maree (Villanova) on June 2, 1979, when he ran 13:20.63. He was the Pac-12 Champion in the 1,500-meter race as well as the 5K. He also set the indoor collegiate record in the mile, 3:52.88.

He was named the 2014 Pac-12 Men’s Track Athlete of the Year as well as the 2014 Pac-12 Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was named the 2014 West Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year during the indoor season. He earned first-team All-America honors in the indoor mile and 5K as well as the outdoor 1,500 meters and 5K. He earned runner-up finishes in both indoor races at the NCAA Championships as well as the outdoor 1,500 meters.

Lalang finished the collegiate year with the fastest times in the country in the 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, mile (indoor), and 3,000 meters (indoor). He had the fourth-fastest time in the indoor 5K. His collegiate-record time of 3:52.88 in the indoor mile ranked as the No. 2 time in the world.