Emmi Scales Named SEC Women’s Co-Runner of the Year

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kentucky Hurdler Emmi Scales has been named the 2026 SEC Women’s Co-Runner of the Year, along with Ole Miss’s Alicia Burnett, per the release from the conference office Thursday morning.

Scales earned the first collegiate medal of her career at the 2026 SEC Championships in College Station, Texas, winning gold in the women’s 60m hurdles final with a time of 7.85 seconds.

Earlier this season, Scales reclaimed the top spot in the national 60m hurdles rankings with a time of 7.83 on the opening day of the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C. on Feb. 13. That mark moved the Wildcat junior into second place on the UK all-time leaderboard, trailing only Masai Russell by 0.08 seconds for the program record.

Scales currently ranks seventh in the world for the 2026 season with her 7.83 time, with the World Athletics Indoor Championships set for March 20-22 in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland.

Scales will look to continue her historic season this weekend at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13-14, as she will compete for a national title, starting with the women’s 60m hurdles semifinal on Friday at 7:45 p.m. ET, streaming on ESPN+.

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