The University of Akron Athletics
Track and Field News tabs Barber as its 2015 Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year
July 13 | Track & Field
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RAISING THE BARBER WEBSITE | BOWERMAN AWARD
AKRON, Ohio - University of Akron junior pole vaulter Shawn Barber (Kingwood, Texas) added another honor to his burgeoning 2015 resume this week as Track and Field News named him its 2015 Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year.
"Shawn deserves all the awards that keep coming his way," Akron head track and field coach Dennis Mitchell commented. "To receive that type of recognition from the "Bible of Track and Field" is a great honor. I hope others will share in this same sentiment and vote for him for the Bowerman Award."
Recently named one of three finalists for The Bowerman Award, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), Barber turned in one of the greatest individual campaigns in the history of the Akron track and field program as he earned his third NCAA title overall and second during the 2015 campaign.
He overcame a broken pole to surpass 18-4.50 (5.50m) on June 10 at the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., and garner first-team All-America accolades for the sixth time during his decorated career.
Perform was an understatement for Barber this season as he won 17 of the 19 competitions he competed in, including winning outdoor titles at the Drake, Mt. Sac and Texas Relays, respectively, and owns two of the top-seven jumps in the world this spring.
He shared top honors at the NCAA East Preliminary Round on May 29 surpassing 17-2.75 (5.25m).
He persevered through rainy conditions to capture his third consecutive Mid-American Conference outdoor championship on May 16 with a meet-record jump of 18-6.50 (5.65m).
Barber has been a force this spring capturing titles eight times, including posting a then world-leading outdoor mark in 2015 en route to setting a new school-, meet and Canadian National record eclipsing 19-4.75 (5.91m) to win the pole vault invitational at the Longhorn Invitational on May 2.
One of his biggest triumphs of the campaign came at the Drake Relays where he battled Sam Kendricks down to the wire before sharing top honors with a jump of 19-1 (5.82m). The mark surpassed the previous Drake Relays' record jump set by Mark Hollis in 2007, while in the process snapping a streak of 13 consecutive wins in the pole vault by world record holder and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Renaud Lavillenie from France.
Barber registered 17 triumphs this season, winning the Texas Expo Vault, Jan. 3, Akron Pole Vault Convention, Jan. 9, in the Zips' dual meet victory past Kent State on Jan. 16, Armory Track Invitational, Jan. 31, Akron Invitational, Feb. 7, Tyson Invitational, Feb. 14, Zips Invitational, Feb. 20, the MAC Championship, Feb. 28, NCAA Championship, March 13, Texas Relays, March 28, the Northeast Ohio Quad on April 3, Mt. Sac Relays, April 17, Drake Relays, April 25, the Longhorn Invitational on May 2, the MAC Championship, May 16,the NCAA East Preliminary Round and the NCAA Championship on June 10.
He capped his indoor campaign in style capturing his second consecutive NCAA title with a collegiate- and meet-record jump of 19-4.75 (5.91m) at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. His winning clearance on his final attempt broke not only his own collegiate record but also set a new NCAA Championship meet standard besting Jacob Davis' record of 19-2.25 (5.85m) set in 1999.
He was one of only two collegians to surpass 19-0 feet this season trailing only Lavillenie on the 2015 world leaderboard.
Barber captured his third consecutive Mid-American Conference Indoor title with a jump of 19-0.25 (5.80m) on Feb. 28 in Mount Pleasant, Mich., a mark that shattered his own league meet record.
Barber began the month of February stealing the show at the Akron Invitational with a jump of 19-3.5 (5.88m) that broke the all-time collegiate indoor pole vault record of 19-2.25 (5.85m) set by Jacob Davis of Texas on March 6, 1999 in Indianapolis, Ind. The mark also shattered Barber's Stile Athletics Field House record set at the Akron Pole Vault Convention on Jan. 10, as well as his own Canadian National record (19-3) set at the Texas Expo Vault on Jan. 3.
A week later at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 14, Barber again set a new school and collegiate record in the pole vault, surpassing 19-4.25 (5.90m) to win his sixth competition of the season. Barber cleared the height on his second attempt after passing at 19-0.25 (5.80m) and 19-2.25 (5.85m).
He then eclipsed 19-0.25 (5.80m) to win the Zips Invitational, Feb. 20.
Voting for the Bowerman Award begins on July 27 at TheBowerman.org.
