FAYETTEVILLE — An SEC men’s athlete has won The Bowerman — presented since 2009 to the top collegiate track and field performer by the U.S. Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association — six of the last seven times it has been awarded.
Ayden Owens-Delerme, a senior at the University of Arkansas, hopes to make it seven of eight for the SEC when The Bowerman for the 2022 season is presented Thursday night during a banquet in Denver.
Owens-Delerme, who swept NCAA titles in the heptathlon indoors and the decathlon outdoors, is one of two finalists for the men’s award along with Florida State hurdler Trey Cunningham, who won NCAA titles in the 60-meter hurdles indoors and the 110-meter hurdles outdoors.
North Carolina A&T sprinter Randolph Ross, who won the 400 meters at the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets, had been a finalist, but on Wednesday the coaches’ association and Bowerman Advisory Board announced he was removed from consideration for the award.
Ross has been banned from competing for three years as a result of faking an email to anti-doping authorities to try to avoid a suspension over a failure to accurately report his whereabouts regarding drug testing, according to an Associated Press report.
SEC athletes to win The Bowerman the last seven times include Arkansas sprinter and jumper Jarrion Lawson. He won The Bowerman in 2016 after victories in the 100 and 200 meters and long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“Jarrion’s someone I watched when I was in high school when he won the triple at the NCAAs,” said Owens-Delerme, who is from Pittsburgh. “That was crazy to witness.
“At that time I was a young kid, but I wanted to aspire to do something that Jarrion had done.”
Lawson traveled with Arkansas’ continent to Denver.
“Having him here with all of us is pretty cool,” Owens-Delerme said. “It speaks to the legacy of Arkansas track and field.”
Owens-Delerme was in fourth place in the heptathlon going into the 1,000 meters — the final event — at the NCAA indoor meet and 152 points out of the lead, but he ran a career-best 2 minutes, 31.55 seconds to win the title with 6,211 points and overtake Georgia junior Kyle Garland, who finished second with 6,200.
At the NCAA outdoor meet, Owens-Delerme led the decathlon after the first day's five events, then remained ahead to the finish and scored 8,457 points to match the meet record set by Oregon's Ashon Eaton in 2010 — The Bowerman winner that year.
Going into the 1,500, the final event, Owens-Delerme had 7,709 points and an 11-point lead over Texas sophomore Leo Neugebauer. Owens-Delerme ran 4:29.54 to clinch the title with Neugebauer running 4:42.58 to finish second with 8,362 points — a 95-point margin.
“Ayden won his NCAA titles in a couple of different ways,” Razorbacks assistant coach Travis Geopfert said. “Indoors he had a really bad Day 1, and then came back to win on Day 2 like nobody’s ever really seen before.
“Then at the outdoor meet, he basically led it start to finish and showed he was a world-class competitor in every single event. He never left any doubt.
“It’s one thing to do what I call a ‘paper decathlon,’ where you write down your best marks, what you think you can do. But Ayden went out there and actually got it done.
“Ayden’s proven he’s one of the best athletes in the world.”
Arkansas Coach Chris Bucknam along with assistant Doug Case and Geopfert are in Denver, as well as Associate Athletic Director Terry Prentice and his wife, Deanna, the trainer for the track and field team; strength and conditioning coach Mat Clark; assistant director of communications Shawn Price; and Lawson, who trains in Fayetteville.
Owens-Delerme’s parents, Michael and Carmen Owens, also will be in attendance.
“We have a whole Arkansas entourage,” Owens-Delerme said. “It’s cool having us all traveling together.
“It kind of feels like we’re going to a meet, all of us Razorbacks moving as one.”
Arkansas could become the third program, along with Florida and Oregon, to have two men’s winners of The Bowerman.
“I’m pulling for another Razorback to win it,” Lawson said. “I think Ayden’s got a strong chance to win when you look at all that he accomplished.
“He was dominant in the multi-events. His credentials stack up really well.”
Owens-Delerme said he’s looking forward to the presentation whether he or Cunningham wins.
“I’m excited,” Owens-Delerme said. “I wouldn’t say I’m nervous. The hard part is all done.
“Training and competing during the indoor and outdoor seasons, that was the hard part. Doing everything it took to get here.
“Win or lose, I’m going to have a good time here and be grateful.
“Getting to dress up and have the red carpet treatment, it’s going to be pretty neat. I’m going to take it all in and make sure I enjoy it.”
Among SEC athletes to win The Bowerman for men along with Lawson are Texas A&M’s Deon Lendore (2014), Florida’s Marquis Dendy (2015), Tennessee’s Christian Coleman (2017), Florida’s Grant Holloway (2019) and LSU’s JuVaughn Harrison (2021).
Southern Cal's Michael Norman (2018) is the only athlete not from an SEC school to win The Bowerman since 2014. The award wasn’t presented in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic that canceled the NCAA indoor meet and the entire outdoor season.
Owens-Delerme competed at USC and Michigan before transferring to Arkansas.
“Coming to Arkansas and competing in the SEC was what I needed to go to the next level and play with the big boys,” Owens-Delerme said. “The competition in the SEC is the best you’re going to find across the board collegiately. That’s what I’m representing.”