Florida's Marquis Dendy Named to Newest The Bowerman Watch List
Wednesday, February 27, 2013 | Track and Field
Florida's Marquis Dendy (Middletown, Del.) has been added to the March edition of The Bowerman Trophy Watch List, released Wednesday by the USTFCCCA.
Dendy earned his second straight SEC title in the men's long jump with a new personal best and school record of 8.25m/27-0.75. In the process, Dendy set a new SEC Championship meet record and leapt the best jump in the world this year.
The jump makes him the ninth-best performer in collegiate history. He surpassed 27 feet twice in the competition, and recorded another just a quarter of an inch shy. He is the only collegiate jumper to surpass 27 feet this season, and leads all collegians by more than half a foot.
In the men's triple jump, Dendy leapt to a personal-best 16.25m/53-3.75, moving him up to fifth all-time in Florida history and fourth in the NCAA this year. Dendy finished the meet as the runner-up for the Cliff Harper Trophy, the individual scoring champion, with 16 points.
The newest list includes numerous collegiate leaders, world leaders, a collegiate all-time record holder and the owner of an all-time heptathlon world-best.
Four student-athletes made their 2013 Watch List debut in Dendy, Texas A&M's Deon Lendore, Tulsa's Chris O'Hare and Washington's Jeremy Taiwo. The 10 Watch Listers combined the collegiate lead in a total of nine events, and took home a combined 11 individual conference championships this past weekend. Dendy is one of two underclassmen on the Watch List.
Dendy's inclusion on the Watch List makes him the sixth Gator men's student-athlete to make an appearance – joining a storied group that includes Olympians Jeff Demps, Will Claye, Tony McQuay and Christian Taylor. No other program has had more than three student-athletes named to the men's Watch List, an honor shared by Arkansas, Florida State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. This also marks the 50th individual appearance by a Florida Gator on the Watch List, the most of any school.
Claye (2011), Demps (2010) and Taylor (2010) were semifinalists for the award and McQuay (2012) and Taylor (2011) were finalists. The Gators continue to lead the nation in multiple Bowerman semifinalist appearances with five. The SEC leads the all-time semifinalist appearances list with nine.
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| THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST, MARCH 2013 | ||||
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | EVENTS | HOMETOWN |
| Marquis Dendy | SO | Florida | Jumps | Middletown, Del. |
| Derek Drouin | RS SR | Indiana | Jumps/Cmb. Events | Corunna, Ontario |
| Tim Glover | SR | Illinois State | Javelin | Normal, Ill. |
| Kennedy Kithuka | JR | Texas Tech | Distance | Thika, Kenya |
| Erik Kynard | SR | Kansas State | High Jump | Toledo, Ohio |
| Lawi Lalang | JR | Arizona | Distance | Eldoret, Kenya |
| Deon Lendore | SO | Texas A&M | Sprints | Arima, Trinidad & Tobago |
| Chris O'Hare | SR | Tulsa | Distance | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Jeremy Taiwo | SR | Washington | Combined Events | Renton, Wash. |
| Alexander Ziegler | SR | Virginia Tech | Throws | Dischingen, Germany |
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| ALSO RECEIVING MENTION | ||||
| Harry Adams | SR | Auburn | Sprints | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. |
| Shawn Barber | FR | Akron | Pole Vault | Kingwood, Texas |
| Mike Berry | JR | Oregon | Sprints | Seattle, Wash. |
| Jordan Clarke | RS SR | Arizona State | Throws | Anchorage, Ala. |
