- Drouin became the first NCAA athlete to sweep both the indoor and outdoor DI high jump titles in one academic year.
- Lalang became the first DI athlete to win the indoor mile, 3,000m, 5,000m, and 10,000m titles in a single year.
- Although it was thrown at the exhibition Claremont Throws meet, Wruck threw the farthest of any collegian in the discus with a 223-7 toss.
QUICKLY – THE FINALISTS
Derek Drouin, Indiana
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Year: Senior It was a banner year for Indiana high jumper Derek Drouin, as the indoor and outdoor USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor National Field Athlete of the Year became the first to sweep both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Division I high jump titles in one academic year since he did so in 2010. The Canadian won at heights of 7-8 (2.34m) or greater and took cracks at collegiate records at both championships. He finished unbeaten in nine collegiate high jump finals between indoors and outdoors, with his only overall loss coming in a tie with fellow The Bowerman semifinalist and rival Erik Kynard of Kansas State at the Nike Prefontaine Classic Diamond League Meeting, where both posted the No. 2 outdoor mark in collegiate history at 7-8¾ (2.36m). He won all four high jump finals indoors, three of which came with clearances of 7-6 (2.29m) or greater. Highlighting his indoor campaign was his third career NCAA indoor high jump title without a miss through his first eight heights to a winning mark of 7-8½ (2.35m) to move him up to No. 2 on the all-time collegiate indoor performers list. He narrowly missed on three attempts at 7-9¾ (2.38m). Competing in the heptathlon at the Big Ten Championships, he set the world’s all-time best high jump mark in heptathlon competition with a clearance of 7-6½ (2.30m), going on to finish third in the overall event with 5,817 points. He won the open high jump title the next day at 7-5 (2.26m). His outdoor campaign saw him go unbeaten in collegiate high jump events and clear heights of 7-6½ (2.30m) or greater in five high jump finals, culminating in his NCAA outdoor title at 7-8 (2.34m), which he cleared on his final attempt to defeat two-time outdoor champ Kynard. His title came one week after both he and Kynard tied for the second-best mark in outdoor collegiate history at 7-8¾ (2.36m) at the Prefontaine Classic. In addition to an outdoor Big Ten title, he won the Penn Relays title with a meet- and facility-record clearance of 7-7¾ (2.33m). All of this came after he claimed a season-opening win over Kynard at the Texas Relays. Following his outdoor season, Drouin won the Canadian title in the high jump with a clearance of 7-7 (2.31m). He was also named the Big 10 Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year |
Lawi Lalang, Arizona
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Year: Junior Though Arizona junior Lawi Lalang did not compete as frequently as the other Finalists due to the nature of his events, he made every race count with four NCAA Division I individual titles — two indoors and two outdoors — two NCAA DI Indoor Championships records, four all-time collegiate top-10 marks indoors in two different events, and a 2013 collegiate-best in an event he elected not to run at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. In terms of championships performances, Lalang became just the second man to win four individual distance titles in one academic year, joining 2009 The Bowerman winner Galen Rupp of Oregon and Suleiman Nyambui of UTEP in both 1980 and 1982. His combination of indoor mile and 3000 meter titles and outdoor 5000 and 10,000 meter titles is a feat never before accomplished by another man in Division I history. Lalang’s 3:54.74 win in the mile at the DI Indoor Championships bested the 18-year-old record of 3:55.33 set by Kevin Sullivan of Michigan in 1995 and gave him the fourth-fastest indoor mile time in collegiate history. He defeated collegiate record-holder Chris O’Hare and NC State’s Ryan Hill, owner of two all-time collegiate top-ten marks in the mile, to earn the victory. He also took down Colorado’s Adam Goucher’s 1998 NCAA Meet record of 7:46.03 at 3000 meters en route to winning the title in 7:45.94, the tenth-fastest mark in collegiate history. In the process he became the first man since Washington State’s Bernard Lagat in 1999 to win both titles in the same meet. His indoor season also included a 3:54.56 fifth-place finish in the Millrose Games’ Wanamaker Mile, good for second among collegians to record-holder O’Hare, and a 7:42.79 win at 3000 meters at the Razorback Team Invitational, giving him the third-fastest time in collegiate history in the event. Lalang’s outdoor campaign culminated with a 13:35.19 NCAA title-winning performance at 5000 meters and another title in 29:29.65 at 10,000 meters. He finished his outdoor campaign undefeated in nine events between 1500, 5000 and 10,000 meters. He won Pac-12 titles at both 1500 meters and 10,000 meters, with his winning 1500 time of 3:38.53 standing as the collegiate leader at the end of the season despite not contesting the event at the NCAA Championships. Following the collegiate season, Lalang set an all-time, all-dates collegiate best of 13:07.13 over 5000 meters at the Ostrava IAAF Golden Spikes in the Czech Republic to finish third. Among the runners he beat was Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopa, the world record holder at both 5000 and 10,000 meters. Two weeks later he ran a 3:33.20 over 1500 meters to finish fifth overall at the Paris Diamond League Meeting. The time smashes his school record by more than three seconds. |
Julian Wruck, UCLA
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Courtesy: UCLABruins.com |
Year: Junior A national contender and 2011 champion in the discus in his days at Texas Tech prior to his transfer to UCLA, junior Julian Wruck had a breakthrough year in a big way in 2013, re-writing the record books en route to his second NCAA title in the discus. He finished the season not only undefeated but nearly untouchable in eight collegiate events in 2013, registering the top 27 throws by any collegian in 2013. The one meet in which he was given a true challenge was the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, where he ultimately defeated defending champion Chad Wright of Nebraska with a throw of 213-0 (64.94m) after trailing midway through the final three throws. Though his winning throw was the top mark in the Outdoor Championships since 2000, it paled in comparison to his performance at the exhibition Claremont Throws meet the week prior, where he uncorked the best throw ever by a collegian with a 223-7 (68.16m) mark that would have bested the collegiate record of 221-11 (67.66m) by nearly two feet. He also recorded three other all farther than 220 feet and another at 217-9 (66.38m). The marks will not count in the all-time collegiate rankings due to meet structure and the number of throws taken. His season was filled with other all-time throws. After debuting with a winning throw of 213-4 (65.04m) at the Texas State Elite, he next recorded marks of 216-7 (66.01m) and 215-10 (65.80m) to win the Texas Relays. The very next week he improved upon his season’s best with a 216-8 (66.05m) mark at UCLA’s Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational. He competed in Australia the following week, where his performance was highlighted by a winning throw of 217-7 (66.32m) and another of 216-5 (65.96m). Back Stateside, he won the UCSD Triton invitational with a throw of 216-3 (65.92m). Two weeks later he began his post-season run with a Pac-12 title and a winning throw of 214-7 (65.41m). |
