ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — University of New Mexico track & field student-athlete Ednah Kurgat earned a spot on The Bowerman Women’s Mid-Indoor Watch List, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday.
Kurgat, who ranks top 10 in two events in the NCAA this season, is one of 10 women selected to the watch list. The junior from Eldoret, Kenya, was earning votes in the 2018 Preseason Watch List for The Bowerman, the highest individual honor in collegiate track & field.
So far during the 2018 indoor campaign, Kurgat has raced twice, etching her name in the record books both times.
During December, right at the beginning of the indoor season, Kurgat clocking a time of 15 minutes, 19.03 seconds in the 5000-meter run at the Boston University Season Opener.
That mark breaks the previous UNM 5K standard of 15:54.29 set by Natalie Gray in 2011 and the Mountain West standard of 15:21.85 set by Boise State’s Allie Ostrander in 2016.
Kurgat now ranks sixth in NCAA history in the 5,000, and sits No. 1 in the MW and No. 2 in the NCAA this season.
Additionally, Kurgat ran the mile at the Lobos’ season-opening Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational, finishing in 4:35.29. That time ranks second in New Mexico history and sits sixth in the NCAA this season.
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation.
Performances during the indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons count for the award; performances achieved in cross country are not considered. Therefore, Kurgat’s individual NCAA cross country title does not count toward her candidacy for The Bowerman.
The other nine Preseason Watch List member for the women’s Bowerman are Mikiah Brisco (LSU), Maggie Ewen (Arizona State), Olivia Gruver (Kentucky), Dior Hall (USC), Lynna Irby (Georgia), Sydney McLaughlin (Kentucky), Kenturah Orji (Georgia), Karissa Schweizer (Missouri) and Sammy Watson (Texas A&M).
Kurgat is the first female New Mexico athlete to appear on any Watch List for The Bowerman, but Olympian and Bowerman semifinalist Courtney Frerichs was a semifinalist for the award (bypassing the Watch Lists altogether) in 2016.
On the men’s side, Josh Kerr was selected to The Bowerman Men’s Preseason Watch List, and will likely retain that honor when the men’s Mid-Indoor Watch List is released Thursday.
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