The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Track and Field’s Davis named to The Bowerman Watch List
03.24.2021 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The 2021 NCAA Indoor Long Jump champion, Tara Davis is the fourth Longhorn to feature on the list this year.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Track and Field's Tara Davis was one of 10 student-athletes named to The Bowerman's Women's Watch List on Wednesday.
It is the first career appearance on the watch list for Davis, as she becomes the fourth Longhorn overall to feature on The Bowerman's radar this season (Julien Alfred, Chanel Brissett, Tripp Piperi). She is also the ninth Texas woman to reach the watch list since the award's inception, pulling the Longhorns equal with Arkansas for the third-most featured athletes on the watch list behind only Oregon (16) and Texas A&M (13).
Davis, an Agoura Hills, Calif. native, earned a spot on the watch list after winning the NCAA Indoor long jump title with a collegiate-record attempt of 6.93m/22-9 at the NCAA Championships on March 12. Davis' effort made her the third woman in school history (Carlette Guidry, 1988; Marshevet Hooker, 2006) to win an NCAA long jump title, and the first UT woman to win any NCAA Indoor title since 2016. In addition to being a collegiate, meet, facility and school record, Davis' 22-9 mark helped her climb to sixth on the U.S. all-time indoor performer list and pushed her to the top of the 2021 world indoor list. She earned United States Track and Field (USATF) Athlete of the Week honors earlier this month for her performance.
Davis improved her mark with each jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships, posting a 6.57m mark on her first attempt, 6.71m on her second before breaking the collegiate record on her third trip down the runway. She passed on her final three attempts after breaking the collegiate record.
The Bowerman, first awarded in 2009, is presented annually by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) to the year's most outstanding collegiate male and female student-athletes (indoor and outdoor combined). Davis will look to join 2016 recipient Courtney Okolo as Longhorns to win the prestigious award.
The Bowerman will release an updated men's watch list on Thursday, March 25. After that, the next update is expected to occur on Wednesday, April 14, for the women, and Thursday, April 15, for the men. The Bowerman Watch List represents the consensus among members of The Bowerman Watch List committees in regard to who is currently on their radar for consideration to win this year's award. These student-athletes may or may not have competed yet this year, but based on past credentials have the attention of the committee.
Players Mentioned
