Arkansas track and field athlete Ayden Owens-Delerme, a 2018 North Allegheny graduate, finished as runner-up Thursday night for the 2022 Bowerman Award, which is presented each year to the nation’s best men’s and women’s NCAA Division I track and field athlete.
Florida State hurdler Trey Cunningham won the award over Owens-Delerme during a ceremony as part of the USTFCCCA convention at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora, Colo.
Despite falling short of winning the Bowerman, which is the track and field equivalent to football’s Heisman Trophy, Owens-Delerme had quite a season. He was just the fourth individual to sweep NCAA titles in the heptathlon and decathlon during the same season.
“Just to be honored as a finalist, I’ve known all the athletes who have been in these shoes and been on this stage, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came before me,” Owens-Delerme said to the Union Progress. “I just feel super super grateful to be honored.”
Owens-Delerme’s winning decathalon performance at the NCAA indoor championship came about in dramatic fashion. He moved from fourth to first place after winning the final event, the 1,000 meters with a career-best time.
In the outdoor decathalon season, Owens-Delarme turned in dominant performances at the Mt. SAC Relays and in the NCAA outdoor championships. His score of 8,528 at Mt. SAC set the wind-legal NCAA record, while his 8,457 points that allowed him to capture the NCAA title tied the meet record set by Oregon’s Ashton Eaton.
“It’s an honor to be listed next to him,” Owens-Delerme said during a telecast of the award ceremony on YouTube.
At the NCAA indoor championships, Owens-Delerme finished the first day of competition in fourth place trailing the leader by 252 points in the 1,000-meter heptathlon event.
Owens-Delerme would eventually capture the NCAA championship with a final score of 6,211 points after he finished the 1,000-meter event in 2:31.55, a career-best time by four seconds.
“I’m going to remember in reality, probably, that indoor comeback in the 1,000 meters,” Owens-Delerme said. “Moments like that seem like once in a lifetime.”
Also during the indoor season, Owens-Delerme was part of Arkansas’ 1,600-meter relay team that set the all-conditions school record of 3:03.34 that was set in 1985. He was also a member of Razorbacks’ 400-meter relay team that earned a silver medal at the SEC Outdoor championships.
Before his tenure at Arkansas, Owens-Delerme was named the 2021 Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year at Michigan. He was an NCAA silver medalist in the decathlon as a Wolverine and holds a Michigan record of 8,238 points to win a Big Ten title and set a meet record.
Owens-Delerme was also a bronze medalist in the heptathlon at the NCAA indoor championships while at Michigan with a score of 5,995 points. He also claimed the Big Ten championship with a score of 5,751 points.
At Southern California in 2019, Owens-Delerme won the Bryan Clay Invitational decathlon with a score of 8,130 points. He was a bronze medalist in the 110-meter hurdles at the Pac-12 championships with a career best time of 13.76, and was also a member of the Trojans’ championship 1,600-meter relay team and its bronze medal winning 400-meter relay squad.
“I’m here. It feels great,” Owens-Delerme said during the telecast. “I’ve been all over the NCAA. I’m just happy to be here. I made it.”
And Owens-Delerme is dead set on competing for a Bowerman for a second straight season in 2023.
“The competition is fun and all, but what goes on behind the scenes is really what makes a track athlete,” Owens-Delerme said. “We’re headed right back to the track, right back to the weight room to create a plan for this year for the Razorbacks – repeating what I did last year only better.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.