Hampton senior Francena McCorory was named on Monday as one of the 10 finalists for the Bowerman, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and cross Country Coaches Association.
McCorory won the NCAA outdoor title in the 400m dash on June 11 after running a 50.69 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. It was her third career NCAA title; McCorory also defended her indoor NCAA crown in March, setting a new American record with a 50.54.
A two-time USTFCCCA All-American this academic year alone, McCorory was also named the USTFCCCA's 2009-10 Indoor Female Track Athlete of the Year. McCorory, who graduated last month with a degree in psychology, was also named one of Hampton's Athletes of the Year for the 2009-10 academic year.
Joining McCorory on the women's Bowerman list are: Semoy Hackett of Lincoln (Mo.), Virginia Tech's Queen Harrison, Indiana State's Kylie Hutson, Florida's Mariam Kevkhishvili, Iowa State's Lisa Koll, Texas A&M's Porscha Lucas, UTEP,'s Blessing Okagbare, Oregon's Brianne Theisen and Tennessee's Phoebe Wright.
The groups of 10 will be narrowed to three women and three men by the 10-member Bowerman Advisory Board in the coming weeks.
The Board, chaired by Herman Frazier, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Sports Administration at Temple University, will release its selections on the week of July 12. The Board is vice chaired by Alfreeda Goff, Horizon League Senior Associate Commissioner.
Once the finalists are set, The Bowerman Voters, a group of around 100, consisting of national and regional media personnel, track & field statisticians, NCAA collegiate administrators and presidents of affiliated organizations will make their selections.
Previous winners Galen Rupp and Jenny Barringer will also receive one vote. Once tabulations are calculated, award winners will be announced at the USTFCCCA Convention, held December 13-16 in San Antonio, Texas.
The Bowerman is awarded each year to the top male and female collegiate athletes in the sport of NCAA track & field. The award is named after legendary coach Bill Bowerman, who coached track & field at the University of Oregon from 1949-72 and founded Nike.
Bowerman was an inaugural inductee into the USTFCCA Hall of Fame in 1995.