BATON ROUGE — On the strength of his exceptional performance throughout the 2010 indoor season, LSU junior Walter Henning has been added to the official watch list for The Bowerman award as selected by The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee on Wednesday in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The current men’s watch list for The Bowerman includes 10 student-athletes from across the country who have accounted for two collegiate records and seven collegiate-leading performances this indoor season.
The Bowerman Advisory Board appointed four members to comprise The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee and another four members to make up The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee. The committee will release its next update following the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships on Wednesday, March 17.
Henning has proven to be one of the most dominant field event athletes in the country with his performance this season as he is coming off a record-setting performance at the SEC Indoor Championships this past weekend.
Henning captured his second career SEC Indoor crown in the 35-pound weight throw as he unleashed a new PR of 78 feet, 1 inch on his third attempt of Saturday’s competition at the University of Arkansas. Not only did Henning shatter his own LSU school record in the event, but he also shattered the previous SEC meet record of 76-5 set by former Auburn All-American Cory Martin during the 2007 campaign.
Henning, who entered the season with a personal best of 74-5 ½, has improved his personal best performance in three competitions this season with marks of 75-8 at the New Mexico Invitational on Jan. 30, 76-6 ½ at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 6 and 78-1 at the SEC Indoor Championships on Saturday. Henning has now won all five weight throw competition in which he has competed during the 2010 indoor season.
A native of Kings Park, N.Y., Henning is the clear NCAA title favorite in the 35-pound weight throw as he now ranks No. 1 in the country by more than three feet heading into next week’s NCAA Indoor Championships. The throw of 74-10 recorded by Steffen Nerdel of Memphis follows in a distant second on the national list.
The Bowerman is collegiate track and field’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy and is presented annually by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in conjunction with its convention.
The Bowerman is named in honor of one of the legendary coaches in the sport of track and field in former University of Oregon head coach Bill Bowerman. Bowerman served as head coach of the Ducks from 1949-72 and led the program to four national championships during his tenure.
Bowerman also served as head coach of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team and was an inaugural inductee with the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in 1995. In addition, he is also a founder of global sports giant Nike.
This marks the second season of The Bowerman’s existence as Colorado’s Jenny Barringer and Oregon’s Galen Rupp were presented with the inaugural award in December at the USTFCCCA Convention in Orlando, Fla. This year’s award will be presented to the country’s top collegiate men’s and women’s track and field athlete at the organization’s convention in San Antonio, Texas.
The Bowerman Official 2010 Men’s Watch List
Athlete, Class, School, Event
Jeshua Anderson, Jr., Washington State, Hurdles
Ronnie Ash, Jr., Oklahoma, Hurdles
Sam Chelanga, Jr., Liberty, Distance
Ashton Eaton, Sr., Oregon, Combined Events
German Fernandez, So., Oklahoma State, Distance
Walter Henning, Jr., LSU, Throws
Torrin Lawrence, So., Georgia, Sprints
David McNeill, Sr., Northern Arizona, Distance
Andrew Wheating, Sr., Oregon, Distance
Ryan Whiting, Sr., Arizona State, Throws