Texas' Leo Neugebauer won the 2024 Bowerman as the most outstanding man in track and field. Neugebauer is the third athlete in Texas history to win the Bowerman, but the first man to win the award. He joins Courtney Okolo (2016) and Julien Alfred (2023) as the other Longhorn winners. Moreover, he was the first back-to-back men's finalist since 2019 (Grant Holloway), following in Holloway's footsteps as winning the award in the second go around.
Neugebauer swept the NCAA titles in the combined events in the heptathlon and decathlon. He also set an NCAA record in the decathlon, also setting a world record in the decathlon discus.
RELATED: A complete history of the Bowerman
Neugebauer had a fantastic season filled with great performances. Here are some of his top moments from his award-winning season.
First heptathlon of the year
Leo's first combined events performance of the year came at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic. He scored 6,219 points which was then the ninth-best all-time performance in NCAA history.
Heptathlon High Jump 🤘 clears 2.05m (6-8.75) for 850 points.
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC)
Brock Lewis clears 1.78m (5-10) for 610 points.
After day 1, Leo leads the competition with 3,643 points - a day 1 PB. Brock sits in 12th with 2,638. x
Indoor Big 12 long jump title
Neugebauer surprised some at Big 12 championships when he competed, even though he already had a qualifying mark for nationals in the heptathlon. He won the Big 12 long jump title and finished 15th in the shot put.
Decathlon collegiate record holder Leo Neugebauer winning the Big 12 long jump title with a 7.92m (26-0) PB! 🙌
— Travis Miller (@travismillerx13)
(🎥: )
NCAA heptathlon title
Neugebauer entered 2024 with back-to-back third-place finishes in the NCAA heptathlon. This year he was the favorite and lived up to expectations. The Longhorn scored 6,347 points — the fifth-best all-time NCAA mark.
LEO NEUGEBAUER, YOU NEVER FAIL TO AMAZE US!
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField)
With a total score of 6347, the 2024 Hepthalon National Champion!
💻 ESPN+ x
RECORDS: Every collegiate track and field record broken in 2024
Defending the home track
Neugebauer's outdoor opener came at his home meet, Texas Relays. He already owned the NCAA record in the decathlon, setting the mark in his last performance to close out the 2023 outdoor season. He picked up right where he left off at Texas Relays scoring 8,708 points for the then-No. 3 mark all-time. More impressively, he set the decathlon shot put record with a 17.26 meter throw.
Heptathlon Shot Put 🤘 launches one for 17.26m (56-7.50) to set the NCAA record in shot put as a decathlete 😤‼️ x
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC)
Helping the Longhorns win Big 12s
Leo Neugebauer didn't compete in the decathlon at the Big 12 championships. But he did compete in the long jump and discus in individual events. He swept the Big 12 long jump title and finished fourth in the discus to score key points as Texas won the Big 12 title.
All needed was one last night 🤘
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC)
Leo got the sweep done with his jump of 7.77m to bring home his second 🥇 at conference this season 🤘 x
Discus World record
57.70 meters. That's how far Neugebauer threw the discus in the decathlon at the NCAA championship meet.
WORLD RECORD 🚨‼️
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC)
Leo Neugebauer’s throw of 57.70m (189-4) breaks the decathlon world record in the discus ‼️ x x
Decathlon NCAA record
When it came time for the final decathlon of Leo Neugebauer's collegiate career, all eyes were on the record books. Not for the NCAA record — he already had the record so he was competing with himself — but for the world record. While Neugebauer broke his NCAA record with ease, he also scored the sixth-highest decathlon score in world history at 8,961 points.
Full recap
Here's a look at all of Neugebauer's accomplishments this year:
Championships:
- NCAA indoor heptathlon champion
- NCAA outdoor decathlon champion
- Big 12 outdoor long jump champion
- Big 12 indoor long jump champion
- Big 12 outdoor team title
- Undefeated in combined events this year
Collegiate Records and All-Time marks:
- World record in decathlon discus
- NCAA decathlon record
- Also has the No. 4 best decathlon mark in NCAA history
- Two-time NCAA decathlon shot put record
- No. 5 heptathlon mark in NCAA history
🧠 WHAT TO KNOW: Wind and scoring explained | Greatest venues | Best uniforms | The difference between indoor and outdoor seasons
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