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The Bowerman: 2025 Women's FinalistsPublished by
By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA July 7, 2025
The Bowerman: 2025 Women’s FinalistsNEW ORLEANS – Women’s finalists for The Bowerman, collegiate track & field’s highest individual honor, were announced on Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Pamela Kosgei of New Mexico, Doris Lemngole of Alabama, and Savannah Sutherland of Michigan were chosen by The Bowerman Advisory Board as the most outstanding athletes in collegiate women’s track & field during the 2025 indoor and outdoor seasons. Kosgei, Lemngole, and Sutherland combined for five NCAA titles, three collegiate records, and 13 all-time top-10 performances in the collegiate record books. THE BOWERMAN HISTORY: Past Winners of The Bowerman (2009-2024) The Bowerman Advisory Board is a panel of track & field experts from around the nation who select finalists based on performances recorded during the 2025 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons. Only performances from December 1, 2024, through the conclusion of the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, were eligible for consideration.  Kosgei, who hails from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya, capped an undefeated collegiate outdoor season with titles in the 5000 and 10,000 at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. The 10k victory came first in meet-record time with the No. 3 all-time collegiate performance time of 31:17.82 (she has No. 2 at 31:02.73). In the 5000 she moved to No. 2 all-time collegiately in winning April’s Bryan Clay Invitational in 14:52.45, missing the CR by just 0.27 seconds. In between her 10k and 5k PRs she won the steeple at the Stanford Invitational in 9:15.93, then No. 2 and now No. 3 all-time collegiately. She had another impressive 10,000 performance, winning the Don Kirby Tailwind Twilight by over five minutes in 31:58.51 – at 5120 feet (1560 meters) of altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in registering the fastest time for any woman at high altitude outside of Africa. Indoors she was third in the NCAA DI 5000 before taking 11th in the 3000. Kosgei is the first New Mexico athlete to be a finalist for The Bowerman.  Lemngole, who hails from West Pokot County, Kenya, lowered her own CR in the steeple twice in 2025, ultimately to 8:58.15 to become the first collegiate sub-nine steepler and crack the all-time top-ten in world history. The first time Lemngole bettered the standard with her 9:10.13 effort back in April. Her domination of the event can be shown at least a couple of ways – one with five top-11 all-time performances, including the last three CRs, and another with winning margins in the steeple this year ranging from 10.53 to 40.77 seconds. Indoors she had a pair of notable 5000-meter races – the first in a CR 14:52.57 in early December and the other in mid-March to win the NCAA DI Indoor title in 15:05.93, the No. 9 all-time performance collegiately. She was also runner-up in the 3000 at the NCAA DI Indoor after earlier moving to No. 5 on the all-time collegiate list at 8:41.83. Lemngole is the first Alabama athlete to be a finalist for The Bowerman.  Sutherland, who hails from Borden, Saskatchewan, broke the CR in the 400 hurdles while winning the NCAA DI Outdoor title in 52.46, slicing 0.31 seconds off the 52.75 set in 2018 by Sydney McLaughlin. That also made her the ninth fastest woman in world history. Sutherland had another sterling race in mid-April, winning the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in 53.46 – the No. 8 collegiate performance all-time in the first-ever race with three collegiate sub-54 times. Undefeated at all distances outdoors, she recorded a 49.99 second-leg split on Michigan’s program record-setting 4×400 team, which ran 3:29.22 at the NCAA East First Round (after she earlier set a meet record of 54.39 in the 400 hurdles). Indoors the closest race to her specialty was the 400 and she clocked her fastest ever in the event – indoors or outdoors – in placing fourth at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships (her only loss in any individual event all year). Sutherland is the first Michigan athlete to be a finalist for The Bowerman. Fan voting for The Bowerman begins Tuesday, July 8 on The Bowerman’s website and runs through Thursday, July 10. Paper voting also begins on Tuesday, July 8 and closes in late July. Kosgei, Lemngole, and Sutherland will be feted on Thursday, December 18, during the annual USTFCCCA Convention, which will be held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. One of those three incredible athletes will take home collegiate track & field’s highest individual honor that same night following The Bowerman Presentation. WINNER SELECTION PROCESSThe Bowerman Voters will receive ballots listing each of the finalists and must rank them by first, second and third choice. First-place votes will receive three points, second place will notch two, and third will receive one point. The finalist with the highest point total will be declared the winner. The Bowerman Voters consist of:
The online fan vote opens on Tuesday, July 8 at 4 pm ET. THE BOWERMAN PAST FINALISTS & AWARD HISTORYMEN 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 WOMEN 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 ABOUT THE BOWERMANThe Bowerman, which debuted in 2009 and is named after former University of Oregon coach Bill Bowerman, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation. Bill Bowerman served the sport of track and field in numerous ways. His leadership as president of the USTFCCCA’s predecessor organization, the National Collegiate Track Coaches Association, and his contributions to NCAA track and field and the running community as a whole are among his many lasting legacies. For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the trophy and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org. ABOUT THE USTFCCCAThe U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents thousands of coaching members encompassing NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and includes members representing the NAIA and NJCAA, as well as a number of state high school coaches associations. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches’ interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field. |
