Jan. 9, 2014

Dezerea Bryant received votes on the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s (USTFCCCA) 2014 Women’s Preseason watch list for the Bowerman Award — collegiate track & field’s highest individual honor — the organization announced on Thursday.

Bryant, a junior transfer, is the first-ever Wildcat to be mentioned on the Women’s Bowerman Preseason Watch List.

The Bowerman is considered track and field’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in college football. The award has been given to the sport’s most outstanding individual competitor annually since 2009.

Bryant earned nine All-America honors and nine ACC Championships in two collegiate seasons at Clemson. She swept the ACC short sprints both indoors and outdoors as a freshman in 2011, and won four more conference championships, including the 4x100m relay, last season.

Bryant owns a IAAF World Junior Gold Medal in the 4x100m relay and a World Junior Bronze Medal at 200m. She was 2012 USA Junior Champion in the 100m to go along with USTFCCCA Southeast Region Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Year and ACC Indoor MVP honors that year.

Her 100m all-conditions best time is 11.26 with a wind-legal best of 11.36. She also boasts a 60m PR of 7.19 and a 200m best of 22.88 (22.54 all-conditions).

The Watch List is determined by the Women’s Watch List Committee, which is made up of four individuals. Each of the four submit a rank-ordered top 10 list (vote totals will not be disclosed) and the 10 student-athletes who garner the most vote-points are included on the Watch List. Student-athletes who received votes but did not make the top 10 are also listed as “receiving mention.”

The men’s preseason watch list was unveiled on Wednesday. The first regular-season edition of the Women’s Watch List for The Bowerman will be released Thursday, February 6.

Kentucky’s first meet of 2014 will be the home Kentucky Invitational next Friday and Saturday: Jan. 17-18.