NEW ORLEANS – A pair of Texas A&M athletes have been selected as semifinalists for the women’s Bowerman Award, collegiate track and field’s highest individual honor that is awarded by the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Aggie junior Shelbi Vaughan and sophomore Shamier Little are among the semifinal list of 10 athletes. This marks the second consecutive year that Vaughan earned a place among the Bowerman semifinalist while Little makes her first ever appearance on a Bowerman list.
Both Little, in the 400 hurdles, and Vaughan, in the discus, successfully defended NCAA Outdoor titles this month in Eugene as they completed the collegiate portion of the season undefeated in their specialty events.
They each became just the fifth athlete in their respective events to defend their national championships since the women’s NCAA meet started in 1982. Little is the first defending champion in the 400 hurdles since 2003-04 (Sheena Johnson, UCLA). Vaughan is the first defending champion in the discus since 1997-2000 when UCLA’s Seilala Sua won four consecutive titles.
Texas A&M joined Kentucky as the only schools to have two athletes among the semifinalist list. The Wildcats, who finished second in team scoring at the NCAA championships with the Aggies placing third, are represented by sprinter Dezerea Bryant and hurdler Kendra Harrison.
The rest of the semifinalist for the women’s Bowerman Award includes Sandi Morris of Arkansas, Georgia’s Keturah Orji, Demi Payne of Stephen F. Austin, Oregon’s Jenna Prandini, and Emily Sisson of Providence.
From this group of 10 women, three will be named finalists for The Bowerman Trophy on July 9. The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track and field athletes in the nation.
Aggie senior Deon Lendore won the men’s Bowerman Award in 2014 while Jessica Beard was the first Texas A&M athlete to garner the prestigious honor in 2011. In 2009 Aggie Porscha Lucas was a finalist.
Little lowered her Aggie school record in the 400 hurdles twice this season, and set world leading times for the 2015 season on each occasion. She went undefeated in nine races, which included five finals.
Amid the rain in Starkville, Mississippi, at the SEC Championships, Little produced a winning time of 54.68 that improved the school record of 55.07 she had set in winning the 2014 NCAA title. Little defeated the defending champion in the SEC race as Kentucky senior Harrison finished second in 55.60.
In Eugene, Little paced herself well on the backstretch into a steady headwind as she ran in lane six with Harrison charging to the lead from lane four. Harrison maintained an edge on Little through the 10th hurdle. On the run-in to the finish line a stern challenge by Little had her taking over the lead as she defended her title with an amazing 53.74 clocking. Harrison (54.09) finished runner-up for a second consecutive year.
The effort by Little lowered the world leading time for the season from a 54.15 set by Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer in Olso, Norway, two days prior during a Diamond League meet. On the all-time collegiate list Little and Harrison moved into the number four and five performer spots. It was also the fourth and fifth fastest times recorded in a NCAA final while Little registered the third fastest NCAA winning time.
Little is the first 400m hurdler to claim SEC and NCAA victories in the same season since 2006. She became just the fifth SEC hurdler to achieve the double in the same season.
The previous SEC hurdlers to win NCAA titles in the same season include: Schowanda Williams (LSU, 1988), Debbie Parris (LSU, 1993 & 1994), Ryan Tolbert (Vanderbilt, 1997), and Markita James (Auburn, 2006).
In 2014 Little became the first freshman to capture the NCAA 400 hurdle title since Lashinda Demus of South Carolina in 2002. In winning the 2015 national championship Little is the first sophomore to do so since UCLA’s Nicole Leach in 2007, when sophomores claimed the first three places. The only other sophomores to win a NCAA 400 hurdle title were Janeene Vickers of UCLA in 1989 and Nebraska’s Linetta Wilson in 1987.
Vaughan, undefeated through eight competitions this season, also improved her A&M school record in winning a third SEC discus title with a meet record of 211-8 (64.52). Since establishing the Aggie record in her first competition as a freshman with a mark of 185-0, Vaughan has added 26-plus feet to the A&M school record and moved to fifth on the collegiate all-time list.
As the only discus thrower in the nation to throw over 200 feet this season, Vaughan was the collegiate leader throughout the season. She opened with a 195-2 (59.49) at Arizona State in March and improved to 201-8 (61.48) to claim another Texas Relays title. During the SEC Championships, Vaughan improved her collegiate lead with three efforts over 200 feet in her series – 201-9 (61.49), 205-11 (62.76) and 211-8.
The 211-8 performance also had Vaughan becoming the U.S. leader and moved into the top 10 in the world. Heading into the USATF Championships this week, Vaughan is currently second among U.S. throwers and No. 10 in the world.
In the NCAA competition a couple of weeks ago, the leading mark out of the first flight of throwers was a 191-5 (58.34). The lowest winning distance for Vaughan during the season was 192-7, which she threw twice in wins at the Sun Angel Classic and at TCU.
Throwing in the second flight during the NCAA Championships, Vaughan opened with a 186-3 and then claimed the lead with a 201-5 (61.39) in round two. That claimed the victory as Wisconsin’s Kelsey Card challenged with a 194-10 (59.38) in the fifth round as the runner-up.
A winning mark of 196-11 for the 2014 NCAA title was the eighth best throw in the history of the national championship meet. Vaughan’s winning toss of 201-5 for the 2015 title is the sixth best throw ever at the NCAA Championships and the best winning mark since 2004 when Nebraska’s Becky Breisch won with a 204-5 (62.31).
Last year Vaughan became just the third thrower to win SEC and NCAA discus titles in the same season and her repeat victory at both meets made her just the second thrower to accomplish the feat twice. LSU’s Danyel Mitchell won a pair of SEC and NCAA sweeps in 1993 and 1994 while Alabama’s Beth Mallory won three SEC titles from 2004-06, but only added the NCAA crown in 2005.
THE BOWERMAN AWARD – WOMEN’S SEMIFINALISTS
Dezerea Bryant, Kentucky*
Quanesha Burks, Alabama
Kendra Harrison, Kentucky*
Shamier Little, Texas A&M
Sandi Morris, Arkansas
Keturah Orji, Georgia
Demi Payne, Stephen F. Austin*
Jenna Prandini, Oregon
Emily Sisson, Providence*
Shelbi Vaughan, Texas A&M
* First women’s Semifinalist(s) for school
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics