Tyra Gittens named to pre-NCAA Bowerman watch list

TEXAS A&M University track and field athlete Tyra Gittens has been named to the pre-National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Bowerman watch list.

The Bowerman is an award presented annually by the US Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) to the most outstanding male and female NCAA track and field athletes.

Gittens, who qualified to represent TT in the women’s long jump at the Tokyo Games, currently leads the US rankings in the heptathlon (6,418 points) and high jump (1.95 metres) and is also ranked number two in the long jump (6.96 metres).

During the on-going 2021 season, indoor and outdoor, she set six all-time collegiate top-ten marks and six Texas A&M school records.

At the South Eastern Conference Outdoor Championships, in mid-May, Gittens won the heptathlon title with the third-best performance in collegiate history at 6,418 points.

She placed second in the high jump with a 1.89 metre leap and fourth in the long jump with a 6.56 metre distance.

During her heptathlon performance, she cleared 1.95 metres and long jumped 1.96 metres to become the first woman in world history to record such marks in the two events within the same heptathlon. She also scored 23 points to finish as the top female point scorer in the meet.

In her junior campaign, she has been named the USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor South Central Regional Field Athlete of the Year, as well as the USTFCCCA National Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.

Gittens will have her final chance to qualify for the Olympic Games, in heptathlon, when she returns to action at the NCAA Championships on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon.

Joining her on the Bowerman watch list is fellow Texas A&M athlete Athing Mu, who displayed commanding performances in the women’s 400m and 800m events.