By Chris Chavez
June 27, 2023
Georgia’s Kyle Garland, Arkansas’ Jaydon Hibbert and Texas’ Leo Neugebauer were named the 2023 Bowerman Award men’s finalists, the USTFCCCA announced on Monday.
Here’s what you need to know about each:
Kyle Garland, Georgia multi-events (Jr.)
– Garland nearly broke the indoor heptathlon world record when he totaled 6639 points to win at the NCAA Indoor Championships. It marked his first NCAA title. He scored 140 points more than Ashton Eaton’s previous collegiate record.
– During the outdoor season, he won the SEC title with an 8589 point total and then improved to 8630 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the third-best decathlon total in collegiate history. He finished second.
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Jaydon Hibbert, Arkansas jumper (Fr.)
– Hibbert is looking to become the first freshman male athlete to win The Bowerman. In 2019, Sha’Carri Richardson became the first freshman in the award’s 11-year history to win.
– Hibbert put together an undefeated season and swept the NCAA triple jump titles. He pulled it off with just 12 jumps to win all six meets this season.
– He set the indoor collegiate record and indoor World U20 record at 17.54m at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 11.
– He set the outdoor collegiate record and outdoor World U20 record at 17.87m at the SEC Championships on May 13. The previous record of 17.57m had stood since 1982 by SMU’s Keith Connor. Hibbert’s 17.87m jump puts him at No. 13 on the all-time list.
Leo Neugebauer, Texas multi-events (Jr.)
– One of the best performances of the NCAA Outdoor Championships was Neugebauer coming up clutch in front of his home crowd to break the NCAA record with a 8836 point total. He set a German national record and moved to No. 8 on the world all-time list.
– Neugebauer was third in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
