Florida State University Athletics
Walker Named Bowerman Semifinalist
6/24/2026 6:49:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
TALLAHASSEE– Florida State sprinter Shenese Walker was named one of 10 semifinalists for The Bowerman on Wednesday afternoon. Walker becomes the first female semifinalist in Florida State history, and the fourth Seminole overall to earn the distinction, joining Maurice Mitchell, 2011 winner Ngoni Makusha and 2022 winner Trey Cunningham.
It's an honor for Shenese to be included on the Bowerman list, said FSU head coach Matt Kane. She was great all season and capped it off in the 100 final. She truly has a resume that puts her up there with the best in our sport.
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is named after former Oregon Head Coach Bill Bowerman and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female NCAA track and field athletes in the nation.
The award recognizes the top men's and women's collegiate track & field athlete each year. Ten men's and 10 women's semifinalists were determined by consensus from The Bowerman Advisory Board, which will select three from each list to advance to finalist status.
Walker capped off her senior season with two national titles in the indoor 60 and outdoor 100-meters, becoming the first ACC women's sprinter to sweep both titles in the same year. The St. Thomas, Jamacia, native won her first career indoor national title on March 14 in Arkansas. The six-time first-team All-American dominated the preliminaries, clocking a record-breaking 7.07 to set a new conference and school record before claiming the title in the finals with a time of 7.08. Walker's first round time is the 13th-fastest time in collegiate history and fifth all-time in Division I history
Prior to nationals, Walker added another historic moment to Florida State's after being named the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's MVP after a double victory in the short sprint with three consecutive 60 titles and undefeated indoor season.
During outdoors, Walker opened at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in the 100, with a school- and ACC-record time of 10.80 seconds. The mark stood as the second-fastest time in the world for nine consecutive weeks. Walker remains the fastest Jamaican in the world this year and ranks fifth all-time in collegiate history and eighth in Jamaican history. Walker continued her momentum into the postseason, capturing gold medals in the 100 and 200 at the ACC Outdoor Championships en route to being named the Women's MVP for the second consecutive year. Walker qualified for her third and final NCAA Outdoor National Championship in the 100, before notching her second consecutive national title of the year after edging out world leader and collegiate record holder Adaejah Hodge of Georgia in the finals with a winning time of 10.88.
Walker won the program's third national title in the event and the first since Michelle Finn in 1985. The Jamaica native's victory also marks Florida State's 22nd national champion of all-time and the program's first since Colleen Quigley in 2015.
The Bowerman finalists will be announced Monday, June 29 with the winner being announced on December 17.
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