The Bowerman: 2021 Men's Mid-Indoor Watch List

NEW ORLEANS – We’re back!
The Bowerman Men’s Mid-Indoor Watch List was released on Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) after a careful deliberation by The Bowerman Watch List Committee.
Fifteen different men received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee, but only 10 names can fit on the prestigious chart: Matthew Boling of Georgia, Trey Cunningham of Florida State, Devin Dixon of Texas A&M, Gleb Dudarev of Kansas, JuVaughn Harrison of LSU, Takieddine Hedeilli of Texas Tech, Charlie Hunter of Oregon, KC Lightfoot of Baylor, Tripp Piperi of Texas and Cooper Teare of Oregon.

Boling, who hails from Houston, Texas, hit the ground running in 2021. He has competed in three meets so far and notched three marks that rank him among the nation’s best. Boling is No. 2 in the 200 at 20.53, No. 4 in the 400 at 45.51 and t-No. 6 in the 60 at 6.64.
Cunningham, who hails from Winfield, Alabama, makes his fourth consecutive appearance on the Watch List and deservedly so. While Cunningham has only competed once this season – hitting a national leader in the 60H in the process of 7.64 – he is the seventh fastest performer in collegiate history in that same event from his 7.51 effort from exactly one year ago.
Dixon, a graduate student from McDonough, Georgia, doesn’t have indoor eligibility and will look to make his mark outdoors once again. He is the 12th fastest collegian in the outdoor 800 at 1:44.76 and finished runner-up at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Dixon has also starred on the Aggies’ famed 4×400 relay in the past with scintillating splits. He is the longest tenured athlete on the Watch List at five consecutive appearances.
Dudarev, who hails from Vitebsk, Belarus, is competing unattached for the Jayhawks this indoor season and is the favorite to win the hammer outdoors, an event in which he placed runner-up back in 2019. While it’s not under consideration for The Bowerman consideration, Dudarev hit a massive mark of 24.82m (81-5¼) in the weight throw a few weeks ago that would have ranked him third on the all-time collegiate chart, if he had remaining eligibility.
Harrison, who hails from Huntsville, Alabama, is a double threat when it comes to the jumps. Anybody who watched him become the only man in NCAA DI history to win both the high jump and long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships back in 2019 could attest to that. Harrison is currently ranked first nationally in the high jump at 2.28m (7-5¾) and third nationally in the long jump at 7.98m (26-2¼).
Hedeilli, a graduate student from Tlemcen, Algeria, has starred in the mid-distance events through the first month of the season. He is the 10th fastest performer in collegiate indoor history in the 800 with his 1:45.98 from the Texas Tech Corky Classic and most recently won the mile at the American Track League Meet in 3:56.79 to take over the No. 3 spot nationally. Hedeilli is the fifth Red Raider male athlete to appear on the Watch List.
Hunter, who hails from Gosford, Australia, scorched the track at the Razorback Invitational a few weeks ago. First, he carried the baton second on an Oregon DMR squad that demolished the collegiate record and set an all-time world best at 9:19.42. Then, he doubled back to win the mile in a meet-record 3:54.54, which made him the fourth fastest performer in collegiate history.
Lightfoot, who hails from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, needs no introduction after what he’s done this season. He broke the collegiate indoor record in the pole vault back in mid-January when he topped 5.94m (19-5¾) and then raised the bar on himself with a 5.95m (19-6¼) clearance two weeks later. Both efforts came inside the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center. Lightfoot now has four of the all-time top-10 bars in collegiate history based off his 2021 exploits.
Piperi, who hails from The Woodlands, Texas, is taking aim at the collegiate record book in the shot put. The 2019 NCAA Outdoor champion recently became the second best performer in the indoor version with a 21.74m (71-4) heave at the Charlie Thomas Invitational. Piperi also added another monstrous throw of 21.62m (70-11¾) that day to become the only collegian with two marks of 21.62m (70-11¾) or better in a single indoor series. He is the fifth Longhorn male athlete to appear on the Watch List.
Teare, who hails from Alameda, California, made excellent use of 23 laps at the Randal Tyson Track Center a few weeks ago. He opened the weekend by anchoring the Ducks’ aforementioned DMR to an all-time world best with his 3:54.61 split in the 1600 and then won the 3000 in a collegiate-leading 7:46.10 the following day.
Here are the five athletes who received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee, but not enough to end up on the Mid-Indoor Watch List: Trevor Bassitt of Ashland, Bryce Deadmon of Texas A&M, Johannes Erm of Georgia, Chengetayi Mapaya of TCU and Trevor Stewart of North Carolina A&T.
The next Men’s Watch List will be released on March 4, in advance of the various NCAA Indoor Championships held the following weekend.