For first time since award’s inception in 2009, international competitors capture both top honors in collegiate track and field; Lawson represented Arkansas men and Okolo was recognized for Texas women in 2016

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The Bowerman Award had already seen an Arkansas male athlete and Texas female competitor win in the same year in the event’s prestigious history.

But even though the respective universities added to the Bowerman legacy Thursday at the annual ceremony as part of the USTFCCCA Convention in Colorado, history was made at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora.

For the first time since the award’s inception in 2009, a pair of international student-athletes were recognized as the winners, with Jamaican jumper Jaydon Hibbert of Arkansas earning men’s top honors and Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred from Texas achieving the women’s recognition.

JULIEN ALFRED ACCEPTANCE SPEECH | JAYDON HIBBERT ACCEPTANCE SPEECH | INTERVIEWS | WEBCAST REPLAY

Both programs were previously represented at the 2016 ceremony in Orlando, Fla., when Jarrion Lawson of Arkansas received the men’s award and Courtney Okolo from Texas was the women’s honoree.

Hibbert, 18, is the youngest winner in the award’s history, in addition to being the fifth men’s horizontal jumper to earn recognition. Georgia’s Kyle Garland and Texas’ Leo Neugebauer, both multi-event athletes, were the other men’s finalists.

Alfred, 22, is the seventh female sprinter to secure the Bowerman trophy. Florida jumper Jasmine Moore and Arkansas sprinter/hurdler Britton Wilson were the additional women’s finalists.

Hibbert achieved both collegiate indoor and outdoor triple jump records during his freshman year, becoming the first men’s competitor since Oregon’s Emmanuel Ihemeje in 2021 to sweep both NCAA Division 1 indoor and outdoor titles. He also contributed to the Razorbacks winning the men’s indoor team championship.

Hibbert, who produced an indoor mark of 57-6.50 (17.54m) at the Division 1 indoor final in Albuquerque and soared to a 58-7.50 (17.87m) outdoor effort at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Baton Rouge, became the first Arkansas male jumper since Melvin Lister in 2000 to capture both NCAA titles in the same year.

Alfred contributed to five NCAA titles for the Longhorns, becoming the first female athlete to win the 60- and 200-meter indoor championships, along with the 100- and 200-meter outdoor crowns in the same year. She was also part of Texas winning the 4x100 relay at the Division 1 outdoor final, helping the Longhorns secure the women’s team title.

Alfred set collegiate indoor records in the 60 at 6.94 and 200 by clocking 22.01 at the Division 1 finals in Albuquerque. She also produced the fastest all-conditions outdoor marks in NCAA history, with wind-aided efforts of 10.72 in the 100 and 21.73 in the 200, in addition to contributing to the collegiate record of 41.55 in the 4x100, all at the NCAA championship on her home track at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.

All six Bowerman finalists competed in August at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.