The Bowerman: 2021 Women's Post-Indoor Watch List

NEW ORLEANS – Three new names join the Women’s Post-Indoor Watch List for The Bowerman, a week after record-breaking activity at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released the latest Women’s Watch List on Wednesday after a careful deliberation by The Bowerman Watch List Committee. Fifteen athletes received votes, with the Top-10 comprising the Watch List.
Five of the athletes have a share of at least one collegiate record this year.

Tara Davis, who hails from Agoura Hills, California, makes her debut on the Watch List as the ninth Longhorn woman, giving Texas a tie for third-most in award history. She broke the collegiate record in the long jump to win the NCAA Indoor title at 6.93m (22-9), breaking a mark first set in 2002 and equaled in 2012. The mark also rates her tied for No. 4 on the all-time collegiate list combining indoor and outdoor performances.
Tyra Gittens, who hails from Nashville, Tennessee, had quite a meet at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She kicked things off with a collegiate record in the pentathlon of 4746 points that also included the year’s best high jump of 1.93m (6-4). The next day she won the open high jump, becoming the first woman in meet history to record a combined event/high jump double. She added a third-place in the long jump, giving her a meet-high 26 points, third most in meet history by a female.
Tonea Marshall, who hails from Arlington, Texas, is finally able to run collegiately again. With no indoor eligibility, she competed unattached and clocked a best of 7.86 that tied her PR set as a collegian last year, which remains tied for No. 3 on the all-time list.
Aaliyah Miller, who hails from McKinney, Texas, not only debuts on the Watch List but gives Baylor its first appearance by a woman. She capped an undefeated 800-meter season with a wire-to-wire win at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2:00.69, breaking the meet record held by Raevyn Rogers, a former winner of The Bowerman. The mark is No. 2 all-time in collegiate indoor history, equal to the CR before this year.
Athing Mu, who hails from Trenton, New Jersey, finished second in the 400 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships, then came back an hour later to anchor the Texas A&M 4×400 relay team to victory with a 49.54 split – the fastest recorded indoors by any woman. She was the year’s fastest collegian indoors at 400 (50.52) and set collegiate indoor records in both the 600 (1:25.80) and 800 (1:59.10), the latter even faster than the outdoor CR (held by former The Bowerman winner Rogers).
Kemba Nelson, who hails from Montego Bay, Jamaica, joins the Watch List for the first time, becoming the 16^th woman from Oregon to do so. The Ducks increased their all-time women’s Watch List appearance total to 117. Nelson set two PRs at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The first, a 7.13 in the 60-meter heats, qualified her to the final. The second was a collegiate record of 7.05 as she won by almost a tenth of a second.
Abby Steiner, who hails from Dublin, Ohio, scared the 200-meter collegiate record in the SEC Championships, then two weeks later found another 0.03 seconds to tie it in winning the NCAA Indoor Championships in 22.38. She owns two of the top-5 on the all-time collegiate indoor list and has splits of 51.41 and 51.74 on relay duty for the Kentucky 4×400 squad.
Twanisha Terry, who hails from Miami, Florida, finished second in the 60 meters and fourth in the 200 at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In the heats of the 60, she lowered her best to 7.09, tied for No. 6 on the all-time collegiate list.
Ruth Usoro, who hails from Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, won the NCAA Indoor Championships triple jump on her final attempt at 14.27m (46-10) to tie the meet record and now has six jumps of 46-feet or better, topped by a 14.36m (47-1½) that makes her the No. 2 collegian all-time indoors. Her indoor tally of six jumps of 46-feet or better is the most since Keturah Orji recorded 10 in 2018, the year she won The Bowerman. Usoro has also long jumped 6.82m (22-4½) to rate No. 7 on the all-time indoor list.
Courtney Wayment, who hails from Layton, Utah, won the NCAA Indoor title in the 3000 meters, an event she claims the year’s fastest time in at 8:54.90. The season’s fastest miler at 4:30.47 also anchored the BYU distance medley team to victory at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a 4:32.89 split for 1600 meters.
Five athletes received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee but fell just outside the Top 10: Angie Annelus of Southern California, Mercy Chelangat of Alabama, Tamara Clark of Alabama, Anna Hall of Georgia and Joyce Kimeli of Auburn.
The next Women’s Watch List is scheduled to be released on April 14.