The Bowerman is the most prestigious award in collegiate track and field but it has a weird selection process. So far, though, it seems the voting is going the way it should with Kentucky sprinter Abby Steiner the clear leader.
The NCAA Indoor/Outdoor and USA Track & Field Championship 200-meter dash champion has won the fan vote as well as the vote by membership of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. She dominated the fan voting as she received almost 61 percent of the fan vote — the third-largest margin of victory in The Bowerman fan vote — over finalists Anna Hall of Florida in second and Camryn Rodgers of California in third.
However, there is more voting to go. The Bowerman advisory board will vote. Select media personnel, statisticians and collegiate administrators get a vote. So do past winners of The Bowerman.
Steiner will not find out if she wins The Bowerman until Dec. 15 during the annual USTFCCCA Convention in Colorado.
Steiner will have a chance to add to her already impressive resume when she competes in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore., next week. She will also potentially run in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays for the U.S. Steiner ran a 48.72-second third leg for UK when the Cats won the NCAA 4×400 relay.
Steiner, a 13-time All-American, joined an impressive list of former UK track stars just to be on The Bowerman watchlist. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Olivia Gruver and Sydney McLaughlin were on the watch list together in 2018. Olympic silver medalists Kendra Harrison and Dezerea Bryant were semifinalists together in 2015, with Harrison becoming a finalist. McLaughlin was also a finalist.
