After the Ducks’ impressive rust-buster at the UW Preview in Seattle and their dominant performance at the Columbia East-West Challenge in New York last month, two more Ducks joined a prestigious watch list for the biggest national collegiate award in track and field.
Oregon hurdler Sasha Wallace and sprinter Hannah Cunliffe join compatriots Ariana Washington, Deajah Stevens and Raevyn Rogers on the February edition of the Bowerman Award watch list. The Bowerman Award is akin to the Heisman trophy in football language and the Naismith college player of the year in basketball speak.
Wallace scored an individual win in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.91 seconds, which is the current NCAA-leading record and second in the world behind Kendra Harrison, the world record holder in the 100-meter hurdles.
Cunliffe continued to assert her strong return this season as she sped home in a time of 7.13 seconds to win the 60-meter dash, which is the world leading time this year and 0.01 seconds off her own school record. The 60-meter 2016 IAAF World Indoor champion, Barbara Pierre, has clocked in at 7.17 seconds this season.
Previous Oregon women who have won the award include middle distance runner Laura Roesler (2014) and sprinter Jenna Prandini (2015), who now run professionally for Nike and Puma, respectively.
Though Edward Cheserek is the lone male Duck representative on the Bowerman watch list for February, this marks his 23rd career appearance on the list, which ranks second in NCAA history. Lawi Lalang, a former Arizona distance star who defeated Cheserek to win the 5,000-meter crown at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships, leads the count with 24 appearances.
While Lalang was a Bowerman finalist twice, he never won the Bowerman Award. Cheserek has been a finalist for the past three years, and has yet to clinch the Bowerman Award.
Follow Romaine Soh on Twitter @mainetainpls.