Cameron Burrell, center, broke two school records last season. On Tuesday he was named to the pre-season watch list for the Bowerman Award, which is given to the top athlete in collegiate track & field. | File photo/The Cougar
Senior sprinter and long jumper Cameron Burrell was named on Tuesday to the pre-season watch list for the Bowerman Award, which is given to the top male and female athletes in track & field.
Burrell was named in a group of ten athletes that includes hurdler Grant Holloway of the Florida Gators and distance runner Josh Kerr of the New Mexico Lobos, both NCAA champions. This marks the second straight year Burrell has been named to the award’s watch list.
Last season ended any doubts that Burrell did not deserve to be regarded among the nation’s best. Having already broken the school indoor 60m record the year before, Burrell added the outdoor 100m school record to his list of accomplishments.
His time of 9.93s broke the record formerly held by his father, track & field head coach Leroy Burrell, and punched Burrell’s ticket to the NCAA Championship final.
Burrell placed second in the NCAA Indoor 60m final and NCAA Outdoor 100m final. In both races he fell short to Christian Coleman of Tennessee, last year’s Bowerman Award winner. Coleman broke both the NCAA indoor 60m and outdoor 100m records en route to his championships.
Were it not for Coleman, Burrell would have been a two-time NCAA champion last season.
But the highlight of Burrell’s past season came in the 4x100m relay final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Cougars came into the race with the No. 2 time in the country and came out victorious in the final, with Burrell running the anchor leg.
For his career, Burrell has three individual runners up trophies, three school records and a 4×1 national championship ring.
Burrell has used up his eligibility for the indoor season but will still be able to run during the outdoor season come March. The men’s track & field team has been building toward a team title the last two seasons. 2018 will mark Burrell’s final chance to work towards that goal.
