Knight, Coleman Earn 2017 Collegiate Performer of the Year Awards

Track and field fans voiced their choices in this week's DyeStat's Collegiate Performer of the Year poll, while DyeStat's editors made their own selection.

Readers’ Choice: Justyn Knight

With 23.03 percent of the vote, Syracuse’s Justyn Knight won our Readers’ Choice vote, narrowly edging former Oregon star Edward Cheserek and his second-place tally of 20.53 percent.

After watching Cheserek win the 2014 and 2015 Division 1 cross country titles and finishing just ahead of the 17-time NCAA champion at last year’s finals -- taking second to Villanova’s Patrick Tiernan -- Knight became Syracuse’s first national winner to cap his collegiate cross country career.

He relied on a strong kick to prevail in 29:00.1 on the 10-kilometer course Nov. 18 at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky., holding off Northern Arizona’s Matthew Baxter in 29:00.8 in one of the most thrilling finishes in championship history.

After placing ninth in 13:39.15 in the 5,000 meters representing Canada at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships, Knight won all four of his cross country meets as a senior, including the Northeast Regional title when he had to stop early in the race to tie his shoe before rallying from back in the pack to edge teammate Colin Bennie by 1.5 seconds.

Knight also finished second in the NCAA Division 1 indoor 3,000 final and placed third in the outdoor 5,000 championship, before securing his first national title in the fall.

Editors’ Choice: Christian Coleman

The readers made a worthy choice in selecting Knight. However, with so many collegiate records and impressive performers, there were many other athletes to consider.

Former Oregon star Raevyn Rogers was the Bowerman female award winner, setting the collegiate record in the outdoor 800 and contributing to standards in the indoor distance medley relay and outdoor 4x400, helping the Ducks complete the school-year triple crown in winning national championships in outdoor track and field, indoor track and field and cross country.

Texas A&M’s talented duo of Fred Kerley and Lindon Victor set collegiate records in the 400 and decathlon, respectively. Raven Saunders of Ole Miss set the indoor collegiate record in the shot put and captured the U.S. national title with a personal best outdoors.

Arizona State’s Maggie Ewen not only set the collegiate record in the hammer throw, but also earned All-America honors in the shot put and discus, becoming the first female athlete to win Pac-12 titles in all three events in the same year.

Georgia’s Keturah Orji improved on her own collegiate and American records in the indoor triple jump, along with winning Division 1 and U.S. national titles in the outdoor triple jump, with teammate Kendell Williams becoming the first female athlete in NCAA history to win four Division 1 titles in the pentathlon, along with capturing NCAA and U.S. national crowns in the heptathlon.

Missouri’s Karissa Schweizer became only the fourth Division 1 female athlete to win the NCAA cross country, indoor 5,000 and outdoor 5,000 titles in the same school year, with New Mexico’s Ednah Kurgat helping the Lobos capture the team title with her individual championship Nov. 18.

However, this year’s award goes to former Tennessee star Christian Coleman. His silver medal in the 100-meter dash in 9.94 seconds at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships was the most impressive performance by any of the American collegiate athletes to compete in London, but Coleman’s resume was much more than just finishing ahead of the legendary Usain Bolt and eventually signing a professional contract with Nike.

In addition to former Tennessee talents Justin Gatlin and Coleman going taking gold and silver for the U.S. at the World Championships, the pair were also linked again in making NCAA history.

Coleman became the first sprinter since Gatlin in 2002 to sweep Division 1 titles in the indoor 60 and 200 meters, along with the outdoor 100 and 200 in the same year, becoming the first Tennessee athlete to win the Bowerman award.

Coleman set the indoor collegiate 60 record in 6.45 seconds, equal to the No. 4 performer in American history. He came up just short of the American and collegiate records in the indoor 200, clocking 20.11, narrowly missing the 2005 mark of 20.10 set by former Arkansas standout Wallace Spearmon.

Before the Division 1 outdoor final, Coleman ran the second-fastest wind-legal 200 in NCAA history with a 19.85 effort at the Southeastern Conference finals. In the NCAA semifinals, he set the collegiate 100 record by clocking 9.82.

Despite running into a headwind in both finals, he swept the Division 1 sprint titles in 10.04 and 20.25. He finished second to Gatlin by a 9.95 to 9.98 margin in the 100 at the U.S. national final and was edged 20.09 to 20.10 by Ameer Webb in the 200 championship in Sacramento.