Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

College football has RG3.

Collegiate track and field has Jessica Beard and Ngoni Makusha.

Within a week of Baylor’s Robert Griffin III winning the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player, Beard and Makusha have won The Bowerman — college track and field’s equivalent to the Heisman.

Beard, from Texas A&M, took women’s honors.

Makusha, from Florida State, won the men’s award.

Jessica Beard

Beard, who will graduate Saturday, won NCAA titles indoors and outdoors at 400 meters and the 4-by-400 relay. From Euclid, Ohio, she became the third women in NCAA history and first since 1999 to win both 400 and both 4-by-400 titles in the same year.

Beard clocked the world’s fastest time of the year indoors (50.79). Outdoors, she won the NCAA in 51.10 and had a 49.13 split as anchor of the Aggies’ relay. After the collegiate season, Beard placed fourth in the USATF Championships 400, running a season-best 51.06.

Ngoni Makusha

Makusha, from Seke, Zimbabwe, joins a list of 100 meters and long jump champions in the same NCAA Outdoor meet that includes Houston’s Carl Lewis, Ohio State’s Jesse Owens and Michigan’s DeHart Hubbard. The junior, who is passing on his senior season in order to turn pro, also won the NCAA Indoor long-jump title and is the first male to sweep the indoor and outdoor jump titles since Nebraska’s Arturs Abolins in 2006. Makusha won a third title outdoors, running the second leg on the Seminoles 4-by-100 relay. His winning time of 9.89 in the 100 broke the collegiate and meet record of 9.92 set by UCLA’s Ato Bolden, and also is the Zimbabwean national record. He also set a national record of 27-6 3/4 in the long jump.

The Bowerman award, named for legendary Oregon coach Bill Bowerman, was introduced in 2009. It is presented annually by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Bowerman winners

WOMEN                                                                                    MEN
Jenny Barringer,  Colo.               2009                 Galen Rupp, Oregon
Queen Harrison, Va. Tech         2010                  Ashton Eaton, Oregon
Jessica Beard, Texas A&M         2011                  Ngoni Makusha, Fla. St.

Cleaning up some post-vacation track and field notes …

Southeastern Conference rivals Alabama and Florida have plucked two assistant coaches from Don Weber’s staff at Kentucky.

Alabama hired throws coach Doug Reynolds in June, and Florida took sprints coach Erin Tucker this month.

Cory Young

While the search is on for Tucker’s replacement, Reynolds’ spot at UK has been taken by Cory Young.

Young, a 2005 University of Indianapolis graduate, was named Division II National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year this season at Grand Valley State. In five seasons with the Lakers, Young’s throwers totaled 33 all-America honors and four national championships.

Doug Reynolds

Erin Tucker

Reynolds spent six seasons at UK, where his throwers set seven school records and won nine SEC titles. A Pac-10 discus champion for Arizona, where he graduated in 1998, Reynolds was named Mideast Region Throws Coach of the Year in his first season at UK.

Tucker returns to his alma mater, where he was a four-time SEC champion and six-time all-American from 1994 through 1999. He spent eight seasons at UK and in 2006 was named Mideast Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. At UK, he coached 27 all-Americans, 26 all-SEC performers, 15 all-region athletes, six SEC champions, four Olympians, three NCAA runner-ups and one NCAA champion (Rondel Sorrillo, 2010, 200 meters).

And the ESPY goes to …

Tyson Gay

In case you missed it, the ESPY Awards included a winner from Lexington: Tyson Gay. The American record-holder in the 100 meters (9.69) and second-fastest ever in the world, the Lafayette High School graduate won the ESPY for Best Track and Field Athlete.

* One of Gay’s biggest rivals from his high school days, Owensboro’s Casey Combest, will be featured Saturday in a 90-minute documentary carried on ESPN Classic. The documentary, Lay It On The Line: The Casey Combest Story, is scheduled to air at 4 a.m. and again at 6:15 p.m.

Combest set national high school indoor records for 60 meters, 100 yards and 100 meters. The documentary follows his comeback in an attempt to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.

Finalists named for The Bowerman

The Bowerman Advisory Board, in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, has named The Bowerman finalists. The award is considered collegiate track and field’s top honor, on par with football’s Heisman Trophy.

Tina Sutej

Kimberlyn Duncan

Jessica Beard

Women’s finalists are Texas A&M senior sprinter Jessica Beard, LSU sophomore sprinter Kimberlyn Duncan and Arkansas junior pole-vaulter Tina Sutej.

Men’s finalists are Washington State senior hurdler Jeshua Anderson, Florida junior jumper Christian Taylor and Florida State junior sprinter/jumper Ngoni Makusha.

Ngoni Makusha

Jeshua Anderson

Christian Taylor

Finalists were chosen by the 10-person Bowerman Advisory Board, based on performances during the 2011 indoor and outdoor collegiate seasons. The award will be presented Dec. 14, during the USTFCCCA convention at San Antonio, Texas.

The winners will be determined by Bowerman Voters, who consist of: Bowerman Advisory Board; media; statisticians; collegiate administrators; and past winners Galen Rupp, Ashton Eaton, Jenny (Barringer) Simpson and Queen Harrison. Also, online voting (Aug. 1-16) by the public will constitute one collective vote, as will online voting by USTFCCCA members.

The 10-person Bowerman Advisory Board, in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), made the announcements. The Bowerman is the highest award given to collegiate track and field competitors in the United States.

The men’s finalists, announced Tuesday, are all seniors: Ashton Eaton and Andrew Wheating of Oregon, plus Ryan Whiting of Arizona State.

Women’s finalists, announced Monday, also are all seniors: Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison, Iowa State’s Lisa Koll and Texas-El Paso’s Blessing Okagbare.

Finalists were chosen based on performances throughout the 2010 indoor and outdoor seasons. Only performances through the conclusion of the NCAA Outdoor competition were considered.

The Bowerman Voters will receive ballots listing each of the finalists and must rank them by first, second and third choice. First-place votes will receive three points, second place will notch two, and third will receive one point. The finalist with the highest point total will be declared the winner.

The Bowerman Voters consist of:

• The Bowerman Advisory Board, media personnel, statisticians, collegiate administrators
• Galen Rupp, 2009 men’s winner of The Bowerman
• Jenny Barringer, 2009 women’s winner of The Bowerman
• Online voting by the public will constitute one collective vote (ranking of choices will be made by order of total single votes)
• Online voting by USTFCCCA members will constitute one collective vote (ranking of choices will be made by order of total single votes)

Ashton Eaton

Paper balloting will conclude in August while online voting will begin in the coming weeks and will last until late August. Winners will be announced in a ceremony at the USTFCCCA Convention on Dec. 15 at San Antonio, Texas.

Eaton, from Bend, Ore., won his second consecutive NCAA Indoor heptathlon title and a third straight NCAA Outdoor decathlon championship. His title-winning score of 6,499 indoors broke the world record set 17 years earlier by Dan O’Brien. Outdoors, he topped 8,150 points three times, setting an NCAA Championships meet record. 

Andrew Wheating

Wheating, from Norwich, Vt., won NCAA outdoor crowns in the 800 and 1,500, becoming the fourth overall and first to accomplish the double win since 1984. Wheating also defended his outdoor 800-meter national crown with the win, the first American to do so since 1994. In the 1,500, Wheating led Oregon to a 1-2-3 national sweep. At the NCAA Indoor, Wheating anchored the distance medley relay to a second straight national title and was national runner-up in the 800.

Ryan Whiting

Whiting, from Harrisburg, Pa., produced a third straight NCAA Indoor crown with the shot put and a second-consecutive outdoor title. In addition, Whiting won his first NCAA crown with the discus and is only one of 11 to have notched national crowns with the shot and discus in the same championship. At the outdoor championships, Whiting’s final toss of 72-1 (21.97 meters) moved him into a tie for second on the all-time collegiate list and just three centimeters shy of the collegiate record. Overall, Whiting marked throws of over 70 feet on eight occasions during the year –- an all-time collegiate best. Whiting was also undefeated among collegians with the shot in 2010.

Queen Harrison

Harrision, a native of Richmond, Va., became the first female in NCAA history to win both 100- and 400-meter hurdle national titles. In addition, Harrison won the NCAA indoor crown in the 60-meter hurdles. She recorded the 2010 collegiate-best times in all three hurdle events spanning the indoor and outdoor seasons and went undefeated in every finals of those events. Harrison notched the fourth-best, all-time collegiate best 100-meter hurdle time in winning the Penn Relays title (12.61).

Lisa Koll

Koll, out of Fort Dodge, Iowa, swept NCAA crowns in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, only the fourth female ever to do so. Koll won the 10k by over 23 seconds to claim her second national title in the event, while her 30-second victory in the 5,000 paired with her 2010 NCAA indoor title at the same distance. Koll opened the outdoor season with a collegiate record, clocking 31:18.07 in the 10k at the Stanford Invitational. In individual races, Koll only lost to a collegian once during the season.

Blessing Okagbare

Okagbare, from Umuahi, Nigeria, notched NCAA Outdoor crowns in the 100 meters and long jump, becoming the first in collegiate history to pull off such a feat. Indoors, Okagbare won national titles in the 60 and long jump, twice bettering the NCAA long-jump record. Okagbare was undefeated in all sprint and jump finals during the season and anchored the UTEP 4×100 to the NCAA Championships semifinals.

Rondel Sorrillo

Kentucky landed six athletes on the list, topped by three-event honoree Rondel Sorrillo. He won the NCAA 200-meter dash and was runner-up in the 100. Sorrillo, Sean Lange, Kwasi Obeng and Alex Williams all earned All-America status in the 4-by-100 relay. 

The Wildcats also were represented by Colin Boevers in the men’s discus and Ashley Muffet in the women’s discus and shot put.

Forty-nine SEC men earned 65 honors, while 34 women garnered 51 awards.

Florida led the men’s list with 11 individuals, while LSU was first among the women with eight individuals.

Sorrillo was one of two men to earn awards in three events. The other was South Carolina’s Johnny Dutch (110-meter hurdles, 400 hurdles, 4-by-400 relay).

Three women earned three-event honors: Auburn’s Joanna Atkins (400, 4-by-100, 4-by-400), Auburn’s Sheniqua Ferguson (100, 200, 4-by-100), LSU’s Samantha Henry (200, 4-by-100, 4-by-400) and LSU’s Takeia Pinckney (100, 200, 4-by-100).

Florida led SEC teams in the NCAA Championships, placing second in the men’s standings and third in the women’s standings. UK, with Sorrillo doing all the scoring, placed 13th in the men’s events. The UK women tied for 51st in the nation.

Bowerman candidate Lists of 10 announced

The USTFCCCA has released the lists of 10 men and 10 women that will be considered for The Bowerman Award. The Bowerman is college track and field’s version of football’s Heisman Trophy, presented to the top athlete in the sport on an annual basis.

The groups of 10 will be trimmed to three men and three women by a 10-member Bowerman Advisory Board. The board, chaired by Herman Frazier, senior associate athletics director for sports administration at Temple University, will release its selections July 12.

Then, Bowerman Voters — a group of about 100 national and regional media members, statisticians, administrators and presidents of affiliated organizations — will cast the final votes. Voters include this writer and last year’s winners: Galen Rupp and Jenny Barringer.

The winners will be announced at the USTFCCCA Convention, Dec. 13-16, at San Antonio Texas.

The top 10 lists, in alphabetical order, follow.

WOMEN

Semoy Hackett

Queen Harrison

Kylie Hutson

Semoy Hackett, Lincoln (Mo.) — Sophomore sprinter from Trinidad & Tobago won five NCAA Division II titles, setting three meet records.

Kylie Hutson, Indiana State — Senior from Terre Haute, Ind., swept NCAA pole-vault titles indoors and outdoors, setting a meet record outdoors, and was undefeated in collegiate competition.

Mariam Kevkhishvili

Lisa Koll

Porscha Lucas

Mariam Kevkhishvili, Florida — Senior from the nation of Georgia swept NCAA shot-put titles indoors and outdoors, was undefeated and surpassed 60 feet four times.

Lisa Koll, Iowa State — Senior from Fort Dodge, Iowa, won the NCAA 5,000 and 10,000 meters outdoors, 5,000 meters indoors and set a 10,000-meter collegiate record of 31:18.07.

Porscha Lucas, Texas A&M — Senior from Plano, Texas, won NCAA titles in the 200 and 4-by-100 relay, running the second leg on an undefeated relay, and placed second in the 100.

Francena McCorory

Blessing Okagbare

Francena McCorory, Hampton — Junior from Hampton, Va., won the indoor and outdoor 400-meter titles, setting an American indoor record of 50.54.

Blessing Okagbare, Texas-El Paso — Senior from Nigeria is the first woman to win the 100 meters and long jump in the same NCAA Championships; also swept 60 meters and long jump indoors.

Brianne Theisen

Phoebe Wright

Brianne Theisen, Oregon — Junior from Canada swept NCAA multi-event titles (pentathlon indoors, heptathlon outdoors) and led off the winning 4-by-400 relay.

Phoebe Wright, Tennessee — Senior from Signal Mountain, Tenn., swept NCAA 800 crowns, was undefeated at that distance, led off the NCAA Indoor-champion distance medley relay and ran on three Penn Relays championship teams.

MEN

Sam Chelanga

Johnny Dutch

Jeff Demps

Sam Chelanga, Liberty — Red-shirt junior from Kenya won the NCAA 10,000 meters and, earlier in the season, sliced 20 seconds off his own collegiate record in the event.

Jeff Demps, Florida — Frosh (indoors)/soph (outdoors) from Winter Garden, Fla., won NCAA sprint titles indoors at 60 meters and outdoors at 100, and anchored the winning 4-by-100 relay outdoors.

Johnny Dutch, South Carolina — Junior from Clayton, N.C., won the NCAA 400-meter hurdles, running the fourth-best time in the world (48.12) in the quarterfinals, and also was a finalist in the 110-meter hurdles and 4-by-400 relay.

Ashton Eaton

Kirani James

Walter Henning

Ashton Eaton, Oregon — Senior from Bend, Ore., won a second straight NCAA heptathlon title indoors, setting a world record in the process, and took his third straight decathlon championship outdoors.

Walter Henning, LSU — Junior from Kings Park, N.Y., won national crowns in the 35-pound weight throw indoors and in the hammer throw outdoors, the first such double since 2006.

Kirani James, Alabama — Freshman from Grenada, at 17, won the NCAA 400 meters in 45.01.

David McNeill

Christian Taylor

David McNeill, Northern Arizona — Senior from Australia swept NCAA 5,000-meter titles indoors and outdoors, clocking 13:25.63 in the latter.

Christian Taylor, Florida — Sophomore from Fayetteville, Ga., is the first to sweep NCAA triple jump titles, indoors and outdoors, since 2002, and also was runner-up in the long jump at both meets.

Ryan Whiting

Andrew Wheating

Andrew Wheating, Oregon — Senior from Norwich, Vt., is the first man to sweep the NCAA Outdoor 800 and 1,500 crowns since 1984; also anchored the Ducks’ first-place distance medley relay indoors.

Ryan Whiting, Arizona State — Senior from Harrisburg, Pa., won the NCAA shot put indoors and outdoors, recording eight puts beyond 70 feet, and added the discus crown outdoors.

Fans attending Eastern Kentucky University’s home basketball games this week are invited to take part in the fifth annual Colonel Holiday Toy Drive.

The drive, operated by the EKU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Salvation Army, opened Monday at the Alumni Coliseum ticket office. Donations of new, unwrapped toys will be accepted from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily through Friday.

Wednesday night, when the EKU men (6-2) play host to Ohio Valley (1-4) at 7 p.m., fans who donate to the Toy Drive will gain free admission.

Friday, when the EKU women (4-4) meet Davis & Elkins at 6 p.m., donations will earn free admission.

Bluegrass tinge to USATF annual meeting

Award winners at the USA Track & Field annual meeting in Indianapolis include several Kentucky connections.

Lexington native Tyson Gay won both the Harrison Dillard and Jesse Owens awards.

Sprinter Tyson Gay (Lafayette High School/Univ. of Arkansas) received both the Jesse Owens and Harrison Dillard awards. World-champion long-jumper Dwight Phillips (Univ. of Kentucky) took the Jim Thorpe Award.

Gay, the World Championships silver medalist at 100 meters, equaled or bettered his own American record three times in 2009. Other finalists for the award were Phillips, Christian Cantwell, Kerron Clement, Trey Hardee, Bernard Lagat and LaShawn Merritt.

USATF’s chairman and president, Stephanie Hightower (Louisville Stuart H.S./Ohio State), commended the board of directors who, over the last 11 months, have developed a ”comprehensive strategic plan.”

Also, five new members were inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame — four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs; Olympic long jump gold-medalists Randy Williams and Willie Steele; Olympic gold-medalist 400-meter hurdler Andre Phillips; and one of the all-time coaching greats, Dr. Ken Foreman.

Updating Charley Taylor’s recovery

Charley Taylor

Long-time Lexington Legends pitching coach Charley Taylor’s post-surgery cancer treatment is running ahead of the schedule that was posted on this blog Tuesday.

He already has returned to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for chemotherapy. All indications are that his recovery is going well five weeks after the surgery.

Here’s hoping Charley is back tutoring young pitchers soon on a bullpen mound.

Lyles, Clemens honored by Astros

Jordan Lyles

Koby Clemens

RHP Jordan Lyles, who went 7-11 with a 3.24 ERA for the Legends last season, is Pitcher of the Year in the Houston Astros organization.

Lyles, who turned 19 in October, ranked fourth in minor-league baseball and set a Legends record by striking out 167. He fanned 10 or more batters in four games and walked only 38 over 144 2/3 innings. The Astros landed Lyles with a 2008 supplemental first-round draft pick (38th overall).

Former Legend 3B Koby Clemens is Offensive Player of the Year in the Astros organization.

Clemens, now a catcher, hit .345 with 22 homers and 121 RBI for the Lancaster JetHawks of the High-A California League.