Julien Alfred Cops Top Collegiate Track and Field Awards in 2023

Friday, Dec 15

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PORTS: After a record-breaking season, winning both the 60-meter and the 200-meter dashes at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Julien Alfred has been named the USTFCCCA Female National Track Athlete of the Year. And if that was not enough for the Saint Lucian native, Alfred has also won the prestigious Bowerman Award given to the top track and field collegiate athlete.

The 11-time Saint Lucian went undefeated in the 60-meter dash and broke her own collegiate record six times this season. After setting the record in the semifinals of last year's NCAA Indoor Championships at 7.04 seconds, Alfred lowered her time to 7.03, 7.02, 7.00, 6.97, 6.96 and 6.94, the latter two coming at this season's Championships. Alfred is the lone female collegian to ever run sub-seven seconds and is now tied for the second fastest time in world history, just .02 seconds off the world record. She also holds the top 11 times in UT history in the event.

At this year's NCAA Indoor Championships, Alfred broke her second collegiate record in the 200-meter dash with her world-leading time of 22.01 to complete the historic sprint double. Her time ranks as the second-fastest time ever, trailing only Merlene Ottey's world record of 21.87 set in 1993. She now has the top three times in UT history in that event, first breaking the school record with a 22.26 clocking in winning this year's Big 12 indoor title, then adding the third-best mark (22.38) in the NCAA Championship prelims.

Alfred is the first-ever Longhorn female to be selected as the USTFCCCA Indoor Female Track Athlete of the Year. She joins Courtney Okolo – the USTFCCCA Outdoor Female Athlete of the Year in 2014 and 2016 – as the only Longhorns to receive that honour either indoors or outdoors.