Oregon track and field star Laura Roesler was awarded The 2014 Bowerman trophy Wednesday evening, an honor given to the nation’s top male and female collegiate track athletes.
The male recipient of the award was Texas A&M’s Deondre Lendore.
The Bowerman trophy is the highest honor an individual can receive in collegiate track and field. Named after legendary Oregon coach Bill Bowerman, the award was first handed out in 2009.
The other female finalists were Texas’ Courtney Okolo and Arkansas State’s Sharika Nelvis.
Rounding out the men’s field was Oregon’s Edward Cheserek and Arizona’s Lawi Lalang.
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association presented the awards at the JW Mariott Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.
Roesler ended her final season with the Ducks in spectacular fashion. She won the NCAA Outdoor 800 meter Championship and was a member of the 4×400 relay that helped Oregon claim the indoor team title. The NCAA Indoor victory for the Oregon women was the fifth straight.
Roesler is just the second female athlete out of Oregon to be listed as a finalst for the award, following in the footsteps of Brianne Theisen — who finished third in 2012. She is the first Duck female winner.
Roesler also won the Bowerman fan vote, which added three points to her total. Lendore won the fan vote on the men’s side.
Cheserek lived up to the hype of his freshman year, drawing comparisons to some of the great Oregon distance runners by winning a plethora of individual accolades, including three NCAA titles. He won the 3000 and 5000 at the NCAA Indoor meet and the 10,000 at the Outdoor Championships. Cheserek was also a part of two team Championships this past season.
Cheserek is the fifth Duck to be named a finalist on the men’s side and just the second freshman finalist. The other Ducks were inaugural winner Galen Rupp, Ashton Eaton and Andrew Wheating. Eaton won in 2010 and was nominated in 2009.
This was the first time in Oregon track and field history that both a male and female athlete were finalists for the award.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur