Romaine Beckford and Wayne Pinnock Named Bowerman Semifinalists
For the second year in a row, Arkansas has two Razorbacks among the 10 semifinalists for the men’s 2024 Bowerman, as announced by USTFCCCA on Thursday.
Jamaican athletes Romaine Beckford (high jump) and Wayne Pinnock (long jump) are the sixth and seventh Razorbacks to be Bowerman semifinalists since the award’s inception in 2009. Last year, Jaydon Hibbert and Carey McLeod represented Arkansas, with Hibbert winning the Bowerman. Previous semifinalists include Omar McLeod (2015), Jarrion Lawson (2016), and Ayden Owens-Delerme (2022), with Lawson also winning the award.
Arkansas is the only school with two Bowerman semifinalists for the second consecutive year. Other SEC semifinalists include Georgia’s sprinter Christopher Morales Williams and Ole Miss’s thrower Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan. Additional semifinalists are Caleb Dean (Sprints/Hurdles, Texas Tech), Leo Neugebauer (Combined Events, Texas), Habtom Samuel (Distance, New Mexico), Parker Wolfe (Distance, North Carolina), and Nico Young (Distance, Northern Arizona).
The Bowerman Advisory Board, which has issued watch lists throughout the season, selected the semifinalists based on a consensus ranking of 10 athletes. This same board will choose the finalists, to be announced on Tuesday, June 25.
Beckford’s undefeated season featured SEC titles and the defense of his NCAA Indoor & Outdoor championships from 2023. He became the first Arkansas NCAA Outdoor high jump winner since Ray Doakes in 1995 and one of three high jumpers to achieve four consecutive national championships, joining Jesse Williams (USC, 2005-06) and Mark Boswell (Texas, 1999-2000). Beckford’s notable jumps include 7-5.25 (2.27) indoors and 7-5 (2.26) outdoors in NCAA competitions.
Pinnock matched the Jamaican national indoor record with his NCAA Indoor winning leap of 27-6.75 (8.40), achieving a series of 27-foot jumps. This performance tied him for fifth on the all-time collegiate list and second on the UA all-time list, behind Erick Walder’s 1994 school record. Pinnock secured his second SEC Indoor long jump title with a jump of 27-2 (8.28) and his fifth overall SEC Outdoor long jump title. He is the third Razorback, following Erick Walder and Alain Bailey, to win three consecutive SEC long jump titles.
