NEW ORLEANS - Olympian Emma Coburn is returning to the University of Colorado track and field team's roster for her senior year this season and is already garnering national attention by receiving votes on the USTFCCCA's The Bowerman's Watch List.

The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation. Past winners include Olympic gold medalist and decathlon world-record holder Ashton Eaton (2010), 10,000-meter Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp (2009), and 2011 IAAF World Champion at 1500 meters, Jenny Simpson (2009).

The watch list consists of 10 athletes and Coburn is one of six females not in the top 10 who are receiving votes. Coburn is returning to NCAA competition after redshirting the 2012 season in preparation for the Olympic Games in London. The Crested Butte, Colo., native had an amazing 2012 season which included winning the U.S. Track and Field Team Trials in the 3,000-meter steeplechase; and placing ninth in the finals at the Olympics with a personal best and as the top American (9:23.54).

Coburn also earned a fifth-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic last June against some of the toughest competition in the world. She crossed the finish in 9:25.28, which is the fastest time by an American on U.S. soil and would have been the collegiate record if she hadn't been sitting the season out.

The three-time All-American will race a full indoor and outdoor season. She ranks second on CU's indoor mile list (4:36.08) and is also the second ranked performer in CU outdoor history in the 1,500 (4:09.42) and the steeplechase (9:23.54).  She was the 2011 NCAA Champion in the steeplechase.                                       

For more information on The Bowerman, visit TheBowerman.org.