BATON ROUGE – On the strength of her SEC Commissioner’s Trophy winning performance last weekend at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, LSU junior Semoy Hackett joined sophomore teammate Kimberlyn Duncan on the latest watch list for The Bowerman released Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Duncan and Hackett are among 10 women under consideration for the most prestigious individual award in collegiate track and field. The Bowerman Award is the sport’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy and is presented to the top male and female athlete in the country each season.
Hackett makes her return to the list for the first time since the indoor season as she recently took home the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy as the top point scorer of the meet in the women’s competition.
Not only was Hackett crowned this year’s SEC champion in the 100-meter dash after running 11.01 wind-aided in the conference final, but she also ran the second leg of the gold-medal winning 4×100-meter relay team with a Spec Towns Track record time of 43.47. She also picked up All-SEC honors in the 200-meter dash as she clocked a seasonal best wind-aided time of 22.41 in the final.
After scoring 20.5 points in Sunday’s finale, Hackett became the first Lady Tiger since Keisha Spencer in 1999 to win the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy as the meet’s top point scorer.
Duncan was the only sprinter to finish ahead of Hackett in the 200-meter final at the SEC Championships, as she completed the season sweep of SEC titles in the event with a winning time of 22.27w. Duncan was also crowned the SEC Indoor champion in March with her 2011 indoor world-leading time of 22.78.
While also anchoring the Lady Tigers to the SEC crown in the 4×100-meter relay, Duncan also took home a bronze medal in the 100-meter dash behind Hackett with a seasonal-best time of 11.02w. Duncan added 18.5 points to LSU’s team total with her performance this past weekend.
Duncan is emerging as one of the more dominant sprinters at the collegiate level as she has built upon her success from the indoor season as an NCAA championship contender during the outdoor season.
A native of Katy, Texas, Duncan was crowned this year’s SEC Indoor and NCAA Indoor champion in the 200-meter dash while finishing the indoor campaign as the world leader with a top time of 22.78. She’s an NCAA title contender outdoors in both sprints as she ranks No. 1 in the 200 meters (22.18w) and No. 3 in the 100 meters (11.02w). Duncan owns six-straight 200-meter dash titles since the Tyson Invitational.
2011 Bowerman Award Women’s Watch List
Name, Class, School, Events
Nia Ali, Senior, Southern California, Hurdles/Jumps
Brigetta Barrett, Sophomore, Arizona, Jumps
Jessica Beard, Senior, Texas A&M, Sprints
Emma Coburn, Junior, Colorado, Distance
Kimberlyn Duncan, Sophomore, LSU, Sprints
Semoy Hackett, Junior, LSU, Sprints
Jordan Hasay, Sophomore, Oregon, Distance
Tina Sutej, Junior, Arkansas, Pole Vault
Jeneba Tarmoh, Junior, Texas A&M, Sprints
Kim Williams, Senior, Florida State, Jumps