Temitope Adeshina mises Bowerman final shortlist
Nigerian high jump sensation Temitope Adeshina has narrowly missed out on a place among the finalists for The Bowerman, the highest individual honour in collegiate track and field, after the women's final shortlist for the 2026 award was unveiled on Monday.
The Texas Tech star had been named among the 10 semifinalists last week following a stellar campaign, but her remarkable season was ultimately not enough to earn a place in the final three.
Instead, the Bowerman Advisory Board selected Georgia duo Adaejah Hodge and Dejanea Oakley, alongside Nebraska's Axelina Johansson, as the finalists for the prestigious award.
Although her Bowerman journey ends at the semifinal stage, Adeshina can reflect on a truly outstanding collegiate season that ranks among the finest ever produced by a Nigerian athlete in the NCAA.
The 22-year-old completed an unbeaten campaign in the high jump, capturing both the NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor titles. She successfully defended her indoor crown with a season-best clearance of 1.97m, matching the fifth-highest jump in collegiate indoor history, before claiming the outdoor title with a 1.96m leap to finish the season tied for the world-leading mark.
Her exploits earned her a place among The Bowerman semifinalists, making her the first Nigerian woman to reach that stage since sprint legend Blessing Okagbare advanced to the final in 2010.
Adeshina had hoped to become only the second Nigerian woman to make the Bowerman final after Okagbare and the fourth Nigerian overall, following Okagbare (2010), Divine Oduduru (2019), and Ezekiel Nathaniel, who reached the final in 2025.
The finalists, however, also enjoyed exceptional seasons.
Georgia freshman Adaejah Hodge produced one of the greatest sprint campaigns in NCAA history, setting collegiate records of 10.63 seconds in the 100m and 21.68 seconds in the 200m. She won both the NCAA outdoor 200m title and the indoor 200m crown, while finishing runner-up in the outdoor 100m.
Nebraska's Axelina Johansson earned her nomination after dominating the shot put throughout the season. The Swedish thrower remained unbeaten, swept the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles, matched or improved the collegiate indoor record on four occasions, and came agonisingly close to the outdoor collegiate record with a throw of 19.97m.
Completing the trio is Georgia's Dejanea Oakley, whose sensational performances over 400m saw her smash the collegiate record with a time of 48.79 seconds to win the NCAA outdoor title after previously claiming the indoor championship. She also remained unbeaten in head-to-head 400m races all season.
Collectively, the three finalists captured six NCAA titles, set four collegiate records, and registered 22 all-time top-10 performances across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Fan voting for The Bowerman opens on Tuesday, June 30, and runs until Thursday, July 2, with the winner set to be announced on December 17 during the USTFCCCA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.
While Adeshina's bid for collegiate track and field's biggest individual prize has come to an end, her historic NCAA campaign has further cemented her status as one of Nigeria's brightest athletics talents. The high jumper will now turn her attention to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she has been named in Team Nigeria's squad and will be aiming to translate her collegiate success onto the international stage.
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