Texas decathlete Leo Neugebauer named finalist for The Bowerman

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas decathlete Leo Neugebauer is again a finalist for college track and field's highest honor.

Neugebauer made the shortlist for The Bowerman, an award that honors the top college male and female track and field athlete in the country, for the second consecutive year. He's joined by Texas Tech's Caleb Dean and Georgia's Christopher Morales Williams as finalists.

Neugebauer has met the qualifying standards for the 2024 Paris Olympics and will compete for his native Germany, scoring 8,961 points to win his second consecutive NCAA decathlon title June 6 in Eugene, Oregon. That's the best score in the world this year and it broke his own collegiate record.

He won both NCAA multi-event championships this season, claiming the indoor heptathlon championship with 6,347 points before his decathlon victory. He was named the national indoor and outdoor field athlete of the year.

The winner will be announced Dec. 19 at the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Convention in Orlando, Florida. If Neugebauer wins, he'd be the first Longhorn man to win it and the third athlete overall. Courtney Okolo won in 2016 and Julien Alfred won in 2023.