Masai Russell Named to The Bowerman Watch List
University of Kentucky hurdler Masai Russell is among the 10 track & field athletes to be named to the women’s mid-indoor edition of The Bowerman Watch List by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Bowerman is awarded to the top track and field athlete in the nation. This is the first Watch List appearance for Russell, the graduate student from Potomac, Maryland, who earned the spot by breaking the collegiate record for 60-meter hurdles January 20 at the Red Raider Open in Lubbock, Texas. She breezed the barriers in 7.75 seconds, eclipsing the mark of 7.78 seconds set by Grace Stark of Florida at the 2022 NCAA Championships and Brianna Rollins of Clemson in 2013. Russell also moved past the Kentucky standard of 7.87 seconds owned by Keni Harrison, an eventual Olympic medalist, since 2015. Harrison’s 7.87 was her winning time in the 2015 NCAA Final.
Following the record-breaking effort, Russell was named co-NCAA Division I Women’s Athlete of the Week by the USTFCCCA and SEC Runner of the Week as presented by the league office.
Reaching The Bowerman watch list adds to the steadily growing list of Russell’s accomplishments. She was the silver medalist in the 60 hurdles at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships. In the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships, she earned silver in the 4×100-meter relay and bronze in the 100m hurdles, also placing fourth in the 400m hurdles. She has won one silver medal and four bronze at Southeastern Conference championship events. All totaled, she is an 11-time All-American, including seven first-team AA accolades.
Russell becomes the ninth woman from Kentucky to make the Watch List. She joins a group that includes three past UK finalists for The Bowerman – Harrison (2015), Sydney McLaughlin (2018) and the 2022 winner, Abby Steiner. The next Watch List is scheduled for March 1. The Bowerman has been awarded since 2009 and official watch lists debuted in 2010.
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