Marquis Dendy Named Finalist for The Bowerman Trophy
Wednesday, July 8, 2015 | Track and Field
NEW ORLEANS -- Florida senior jumper Marquis Dendy has yet another chance to do something no Gator has ever done: win The Bowerman Trophy, collegiate track & field's highest individual honor. Dendy was named one of three finalists for the prestigious award on Wednesday afternoon, making him Florida's third finalist in the history of The Bowerman.
Former Gators jumper Christian Taylor (2011) and sprinter Tony McQuay (2012) are the only other UF athletes selected as finalists since the award's inception. Dendy is hoping to become the first Florida representative to hoist the trophy.
Voting for the award consists of ballots completed by The Bowerman voters—national and regional media personnel, track & field statisticians, NCAA collegiate administrators, past winners and Presidents of affiliated institutions—along with a fan vote and a United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association vote. Fan voting opens on July 27th and closes on August 11th.
The winner will be announced December 17 at the annual USTFCCCA Convention in San Antonio.
The indoor and outdoor 2015 USTFCCCA National Field Athlete of the Year recorded the top all-conditions long jump in the world this year (8.68m/28-5.75), to take home the gold medal at the USATF Outdoor Championships, which were held at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. from June 25-28. Additionally, Dendy boasts the third-best all-conditions triple jump (17.71m/58-1.25) in the world for 2015.
One of the most decorated jumpers ever, Dendy notched six of his seven national titles in the last three consecutive NCAA Championships. He owns both the long and triple jump school records indoors, and top honors in school history in the triple jump outdoors.
2015 BOWERMAN TROPHY FINALISTS | Complete Bowerman Finalists Release
Shawn Barber, Akron
Edward Cheserek, Oregon
Marquis Dendy, Florida
READ: Dendy Finishes Career in Rarefied Air
WATCH: Dendy Triple Jump Highlights and Comments
WATCH: Dendy Long Jump Highlights and Comments
DENDY CAREER SNAPSHOT
Dendy finished his collegiate career with seven national titles, 13 All-America honors and seven Southeastern Conference Championships between the long and triple jump events. He's swept both at every championship meet since 2014 NCAA Outdoors, including 2015 SEC and NCAA Indoors as well as 2015 SEC and NCAA Outdoors. Moreover, he was the 2015 SEC Indoor and Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year and 2015 USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor South Region Field Athlete of the Year.
DENDY NCAA RECAP
Dendy collected the sixth and seventh national titles of his career with his horizontal jumps sweep, upping Florida's total to 61 individual crowns, over half of which (15 indoor, 22 outdoor) have come during Mike Holloway's 13-year tenure as the men's head coach.
The Middletown, Del. product's outdoor long jump win was a little less dramatic than his victory indoors earlier this season, when he finished first by just a centimeter. On Dendy's third jump of the night, he soared 8.43 meters (27 feet, 8 inches) for a comparatively easy winning margin of nine centimeters. At the time, it was the No. 2 all-conditions mark in the world for 2015.
Dendy delivered a thrilling finishing in the triple jump final. He was dominating in the event—three of his first four jumps would have been good enough to win a national title. Then, after Texas A&M's Latario Collie took his sixth and final jump, Dendy knew he had the event clinched. With only one jump left in his collegiate career and no concerns about fouling, Dendy went for a huge jump, and got it. He hopped, skipped, and jumped 17.71m (58-1.25), the third-best official mark by any collegian, ever. It also capped his undefeated 2015 campaign in the event.
His triple jump crown marked the sixth consecutive TJ title for the Orange and Blue outdoors. Former Gator jumpers Christian Taylor and Omar Craddock combined for the other four championships in that span, claiming back-to-back victories from 2010-11 and 2012-13, respectively.
The prolific jumper's two titles at Hayward Field accounted for 20 of the Gators' 56 points—the second-most by the UF men since Holloway took over in 2003—and helped them garner national runner-up honors for the eighth time in the last 12 NCAA Outdoor Championships, twice as many as any other program during that stretch.
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