Shawn Price
NEW ORLEANS – In breaking the Arkansas school heptathlon record with a score of 6,272 points, which ranks second on the all-time collegiate list, Razorback Ayden Owens garnered the attention of The Bowerman voters and made his debut on the 2022 mid-indoor watch list for the prestigious award.
It’s been a week of accolades for Owens, who was named USTFCCCA’s National Athlete of the Week and the SEC Field Athlete of the Week following his meet record victory in the Razorback Invitational.
Owens is the eighth Razorback from the men’s team to be named to the watch list and the first since Kemar Mowatt appeared in 2018. Arkansas men are tied for fourth among schools with eight individuals named the watch list, joining LSU and Georgia. Florida leads with 14, followed by Texas A&M 12, and Oregon 11.
In 2016, Jarrion Lawson earned the distinction of being Arkansas’ first winner of The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009 and is presented annually by USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female NCAA track and field athletes in the nation.
Owens and Oregon’s Micah Williams, who won the 60m in a meet record of 6.48 seconds at the Razorback Invitational, both made their debut on the Bowerman watch list this week.
The list of 10 appearing on this watch list also includes Matthew Boling (Georgia), Sean Burrell (LSU), Trey Cunningham (Florida State), Joseph Fahnbulleh (Florida), Zach McWhorter (BYU), Brandon Miller (Texas A&M), Randolph Ross (North Carolina A&T), and Turner Washington (Arizona State).
In addition to being the No. 2 performer with the No. 2 performance on the all-time collegiate list, Owens is the No. 8 performer with the No. 13 performance among professionals and collegians in North America.
Among that group, Owens produced the best score ever in the month of January as he topped the previous best score of 6,256 set by Oregon’s Ashton Eaton in 2010.
Eaton holds the collegiate record of 6,499 set in Fayetteville at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships and is the world record holder with a score of 6,645 from the 2012 World Indoor Championships.
When Owens accomplished his victory in the Razorback Invitational, his tally of 6,272 served as the world leader for the 2022 indoor season. However, the following day a heptathlon contested in France produced a world-leading score of 6,285 by Simon Elhammer of Switzerland.
Among heptathlons held in January, Owens’ score ranks third all-time in the world behind a 6,358 by Roman Sebrle of Czech Republic from 2000 and the recent mark by Elhammer.
