College track and field at its highest levels is basically professional track and field. Not only are the performances at the NCAA championships world class, but many future Olympians like Trayvon Bromell, and Michael Norman first showcased what they are capable of at the college level. They both won NCAA championships which is already hard enough, but if you can win more than one, especially if you break records when you do it, you can put yourself in the conversation for the greatest collegiate track athlete of all time. 

So who really deserves to be the GOAT of collegiate track and field? Well I’m sorry to disappoint you that we may never know the answer to that question. But we can figure out who is the greatest athlete we have ever seen in the past 15 years. That is because in 2009 the Bowerman award was created to become the Heisman trophy for collegiate track. From that list of champions I compared each of them based off of their individual success in conference and NCAA championships to determine who is really the greatest athlete of this generation.

To make this list the criteria is simple. You have to win the Bowerman award, for the greatest collegiate track and field athlete of that season. The athletes are ranked with as little bias as possible with points awarded for every conference championship medal, and NCAA championship medal they ever won individually, with NCAA medals counting for twice as much. Relays will only count if you win the NCAA championship, and if you break a collegiate record, that will count just as much as an NCAA championship. But remember, if you leave college early, that will bring an end to your championship resume, no questions asked.

10 - Deon Lendore (Texas A&M)

Deon Lendore of Texas A&M was a truly special sprinter, rest in peace. While running for the Aggies, he swept the NCAA 400 meter dash winning both the indoor and outdoor championships as a Junior. Needless to say he won a bunch of medals at the SEC championships, and was a force to be reckoned with on both of their sprint relays. Deon was an Olympian for Trinidad & Tobago who chose to return back to college after 2012. But he did underachieve as a Senior, failing to win any NCAA medals. That said he was always on another level, and so long as he was competing at his best, almost no sprinter ever had a chance at beating him or his team.

9 - Ngonidzashe Makusha (Florida State)

Makusha was a long jumper and a 100 meter runner who also competed as an Olympian for Zimbabwe before returning to college as well. He dominated the long jump winning several NCAA titles, but actually became a collegiate record holder in the 100 meter dash, running 9.89! That was the only year he ran in the NCAA championship final and he made it count. In that same competition he also anchored a 4x100 national championship because why shouldn’t he?

8 - Derek Drouin (Indiana)

It is a huge deal for Derek Drouin to even make this list because he scored literally every single point that qualified him in his only serious event, the high jump. I shouldn’t even have to say that he dominated the Big Ten, and won 5 NCAA championships in addition to contending whenever he didn’t. He was a national championship threat as a freshman, and never let up, which is why he pulled off more championship success with one event than almost anyone else has

7 - Jarrion Lawson (Arkansas)

Jarrion Lawson capped off his career scoring more points in a single outdoor NCAA championship than anyone on this list. He won the 100, 200, and long jump as a senior but he was a threat in the long jump as early as his sophomore year. He didn’t win everything in the SEC championships, not even during that miracle run as a senior, but it doesn’t matter, because nobody has been that dominant in one meet in this entire generation.

6 - Ashton Eaton (Oregon)

Many people might put Ashton Eaton higher on this list. However, the decathlon is technically just one event. That said no fan should be able to forget jo, because he dominated college track so well, that he broke a world record while he was doing it. He broke the heptathlon record at the NCAA championships, and later went on to do the same in the decathlon as a pro. He was so good as a jumper and sprinter that Oregon basically lined him up to run a bunch of individual events at the Pac 12 championships, because he could score more points that way. During his sophomore year outdoor season he won his first NCAA title, and he never looked back, winning it all every year until his career was over indoors and outdoors.

5 - Marquis Dendy (Florida)

Marquis Dendy was a dominant long jumper and triple jumper for Florida. He led the Gators to NCAA championships and swept the long jump and triple jump as a senior both indoors and outdoors. Needless to say he won the SEC conference in both as well. Which was a fitting end to a career where he quickly showed he was the most talented jumper in college, and finished as perhaps the most dominant one to ever do it.

4 - Galen Rupp (Oregon)

Galen Rupp is the only distance runner on this list. He led the Oregon Ducks to national prominence, and remember we are not counting anything he did while running cross country because this is a list about track and field. He threatened at the NCAAs as a freshman and by his senior year broke 2 collegiate records. But without counting his cross country championship, in 2009, he won 5 NCAA championships across the indoor and outdoor seasons, with a relay championship in the distance medley relay as well.

3 - Christian Coleman (Tennessee)

It was close but Christian Coleman of Tennessee earns the third ranked spot. As an athlete who only competed for three seasons, Christian was the man to beat. As a sophomore and a junior he basically owned the NCAA championships, later completing a sweep of the 60, 100 and 200 indoor and outdoor as a junior. He turned pro immediately thereafter, and you can’t blame him, because when you win everything there is to win, and break a collegiate records, it might be time to challenge yourself just a little bit more.

2 – JuVaughn Harrison (LSU)

JuVaughn Harrison has a combination of talent we had never seen before, and might never see again. He was a high jumper and a long jumper. But he beats out Christian Coleman because of everything he accomplished while losing an entire season of NCAA championships in 2020, and we all know why. He dominated the NCAAs as a sophomore and swept everything during his fourth season, indoors and outdoors. So I’m going to assume that the reigning SEC champion would have put in even a little bit of work at the NCAAs. For that reason, even without any collegiate records, he has to go down as one of the greatest to ever do it.

1 – Grant Holloway (Florida)

The top name on this list, the greatest college track athlete of this generation needs no introduction. Grant Holloway is the best track athlete we have ever seen in college since the Bowerman was invented, and it’s not even close. He competed for three seasons, and on my scoring system had 93 points. Nobody else on this list even scored higher than 70 in actuality, so it’s not up for debate! He never lost in a hurdle championship at the NCAAs, and he was always there as a freshman on down. He broke 2 collegiate records, won a 60 meter dash championship and dominated the long jump. His talent across all those events is only surprising because he basically is the new and improved version of Ashton Eaton, but he didn’t bother to do the decathlon, and just won all the events straight up. You can argue if you want to, but nobody wants to see Grant Holloway on the track in a sprinting race, a jumping event, and definitely not in a hurdle race!

The Bottom Line

To become the greatest of all time you have to be the best and you have to beat the best. The 10 men who made this list have done exactly that, time and time again. College track and field is basically professional track and field by the time you make it to the NCAAs. Although we can’t truly compare them, to all the athletes across the generations, one thing is for certain. That any of them can line up against just about anyone in history and compete to stand at the top of the podium.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

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