NEW ORLEANS – Texas A&M sprinter Deon Lendore was selected as one of three men’s finalists for The Bowerman Award as announced by United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association on Wednesday.

One of 10 semifinalists named for The Bowerman Award, Trinidad and Tobago national Lendore joins Oregon’s Edward Cheserek and Arizona’s Lawi Lalang as the three finalists for the award that recognizes the most outstanding male and female collegiate track and field athletes in the nation.

“This is a tremendous honor for Deon,” noted Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. “He has worked very hard on the track and in the classroom. Deon is dedicated to becoming the best. He’s one of those very special athletes who has a goal in the sport, continually develops a plan, takes coaching and understands the importance of all the little things.

“Deon is a great representative of our program, Texas A&M University as well as his home county of Trinidad and Tobago. We appreciate USTFCCCA for honoring Deon by being selected as a finalist for this very prestigious award.”

Finalists were chosen by The Bowerman Advisory Board, a ten-person panel of track and field experts from around the country, based on performances recorded during the 2014 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons.

Lendore becomes Texas A&M’s first male finalist for the honor and joins previous Aggie female finalists in Porscha Lucas (2009) and Jessica Beard (2011). Beard claimed the women’s Bowerman Award in 2011.

The junior campaign for Lendore included an undefeated season in the 400 meters through 14 races, which included eight finals. Lendore claimed his first individual national titles in the 400 meters at the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor Championships.

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In anchoring the A&M 4×400 to victory at the NCAA Outdoor meet with a split of 44.10, the Aggies just missed the collegiate record by 0.01 with a 2:59.60 school record.

Lendore also swept conference titles in the 400m and 4×400 relay for the third consecutive year, setting school records indoors (45.03) and outdoors (44.36). In the SEC Indoor 4×400 relay, Lendore anchored the Aggies to a collegiate record of 3:03.20. During the SEC Outdoor meet Lendore anchored A&M’s 4×100 (38.50) and 4×400 (3:01.19) to SEC Championship meet records.

As the anchor leg of the 4×100 and 4×200, Lendore was also part of school record performances of 38.30 in the 4×100 at the Texas Relays and 1:20.29 in the 4×200 at the Penn Relays.

When The Bowerman voters receive ballots listing each of the finalists they will rank them by first, second and third choice. First-place votes will receive three points, with second place earning two, and third will receive one point.

There will also be an online fan vote from July 28 through August 12, which will ultimately count as one ballot alongside those cast by media members, statisticians, USTFCCCA member coaches and other experts from around the nation.

The finalist with the highest point total will be declared the winner, and The Bowerman Trophy will be awarded during the USTFCCCA convention in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 17.

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