BATON ROUGE – After wrapping up a perfect season two weeks ago by winning the NCAA crown in the hammer throw at the 2010 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., LSU’s Walter Henning will be under final consideration for The Bowerman Award, it was announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Henning is one of 10 male student-athletes from across the country that will be considered for the highest individual honor in all of collegiate track and field.
The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee will release its list of three award finalists on July 12. When the finalists are set, a panel of approximately 100 voters, including national and regional media, statisticians, NCAA collegiate administrators and presidents of affiliated organizations, will make its selection.
Henning has proven to be one of the most dominant athletes in the country with his performance this year after sweeping NCAA championships in the weight throw indoors and hammer throw outdoors in 2010. He is the first collegiate thrower to sweep NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor titles in the events since the 2006 season when Virginia Tech’s Spyridon Jullien accomplished the feat.
Not only that, but Henning swept SEC titles for the second year in a row, cementing his place as the most dominant thrower in the SEC and one of the leading throwers in the NCAA.
Henning’s indoor season was highlighted by a record-setting victory at the SEC Indoor Championships as he shattered the meet record in the 35-pound weight throw with a winning mark of 78 feet, 1 inch. His PR broke the previous meet record of 76-5 set by former Auburn national champion Cory Martin in 2006.
For his performance indoors, Henning was the SEC Men’s Indoor Field Event Athlete of the Year and the USTFCCCA South Central Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year.
He followed a dominant indoor season with an impressive outdoor campaign that saw him win the NCAA hammer throw championship in dramatic fashion with a winning throw of 238-10 on his sixth and final attempt of the competition. After trailing Virginia Tech’s Alexander Ziegler throughout the day, Henning unleashed the winning throw on his final attempt of the competition.
He is the first LSU Tiger to win an NCAA title in both the weight throw and hammer throw as he finished the season a perfect 12-for-12 in weight throw and hammer throw competitions during the 2010 season.
Henning wrapped up the 2010 season ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in the weight throw with a personal best of 78-1 and No. 2 in the NCAA in the hammer throw with a personal best of 239-5.
The Bowerman Final Candidate List, 2010 Men
Note: All candidates listed in alphabetical order; The field will be narrowed to three finalists in July
Sam Chelanga, Liberty, Junior, Distance, Nairobi, Kenya (Bartolimo HS/Farleigh Dickinson)
Captured NCAA Outdoor title in the 10,000 meters and, earlier in the season, sliced 20 seconds off own collegiate record in the event.
Jeff Demps, Florida, Sophomore, Sprints, Winter Garden, Fla. (South Lake HS)
Double NCAA champion with 60-meter crown indoors and 100-meter title outdoors; added national title as anchor of Florida’s 4×100-meter relay team.
Johnny Dutch, South Carolina, Junior, Hurdles, Clayton, N.C. (Clayton HS)
NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles; ran world’s fourth-best time in 2010 with 48.12 in the NCAA quarterfinal; also a national finalist in the 110-meter hurdles and 4×400-meter relay.
Ashton Eaton, Oregon, Senior, Combined Events, Bend, Ore. (Mountain View HS)
Won second-straight NCAA heptathlon title with world-record performance indoors; added third-straight national title in the decathlon outdoors.
Walter Henning, LSU, Junior, Throws, Kings Park, N.Y. (St. Anthony’s HS/North Carolina)
Won NCAA titles in the weight throw indoors and hammer throw outdoors; first collegiate thrower to complete the sweep since 2006.
Kirani James, Alabama, Freshman, Sprints, Gouyave, Grenada
At just 17 years old, won the NCAA Outdoor crown in the 400-meter dash and clocked 45.01 this season.
David McNeill, Northern Arizona, Senior, Distance, Melbourne, Australia
Double NCAA champion in the 5,000 meters, winning both the indoor and outdoor crowns; posted a time of 13:25.63 during the outdoor season.
Christian Taylor, Florida, Sophomore, Jumps, Fayetteville, Ga. (Sandy Creek HS)
Swept NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor triple jump titles, becoming the first to do so since 2002; Was the NCAA Indoor runner-up and NCAA Outdoor fourth place in the long jump.
Andrew Wheating, Oregon, Senior, Middle Distance, Norwich, Vt. (Kimball Union Academy)
Won both 800-meter and 1,500-meter national championships outdoors, becoming the first to do so since 1984; was anchor for Oregon’s NCAA champion distance medley relay indoors.
Ryan Whiting, Arizona State, Senior, Throws, Harrisburg, Pa. (Central Dauphin HS)
NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor champion in the shot put; also won the NCAA discus title during the outdoor season; recorded eight shot put throws of 70 feet or more during the season.