Ten Wildcats Named to Academic All-District Team for T&F

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ten members of the men’s and women’s track & field and cross country teams, six men and four women, were selected for the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) 2020-21 Academic All-District Team. Through this selection, the 10 Wildcats will advance to the national ballot to be considered for the CoSIDA Academic All-America team. 

The six men that were honored are Michael Browning, Joseph Jardine, Jacob Smith, Josh Sobota, Aaron Withrow and Lincoln Young. 

The four women that received Academic All-District honors are Celera Barnes, Molly Leppelmeier, Megan Moss and Abby Steiner. 

Men 

Michael Browning – Sophomore, major in finance 

Hebron, CT 

• Personal-best weight throw of 63’4″/19.31 at SEC Indoor Championships, 8th best in school history 

• Personal-best hammer throw of 186’0″/56.7m is eighth in school history 

• Finished in the top 10 in the weight throw as a freshman at the SEC Indoor Championships 

Joseph Jardine – Junior, major in marketing 

Mohrsville, PA 

• Personal-best heptathlon of 5211 points is third-best in school history 

• Scored at the SEC Championships with an eighth-place finish in the heptathlon 

• Seventh in school history in the indoor pole vault and eighth in the outdoor pole vault 

Jacob Smith – Junior, major in journalism 

Acworth, GA 

• First-team All-America, part of the silver medal 4x400m relay that set a school record at NCAA Indoor Championships; honorable mention in the 4x100m relay at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships 

• Personal-best 400m time of 46.61 seconds is fourth-best in school history 

• Has nine meet wins during his career, including one individual win and eight relay victories 

Josh Sobota – Junior, major in management and marketing 

Knoxville, TN 

• First-team All-America in the shot put, finishing fifth at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships 

• Bronze medalist in the discus throw at the SEC Championships with a personal-best of 188’10″/57.55m 

• Holds school record in the indoor shot put (66’3.25″) and is third all-time in the outdoor shot put 

Aaron Withrow – Sophomore, major in finance 

Scott Depot, WV 

• Posted personal bests this year in the 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m 

• Ran in all four meets during cross country, with a best finish of 17th at the Commodore Classic 

• Best individual finish as a collegian was a third palce finish in the mile at the 2020 Virginia Tech Invite 

Lincoln Young – Junior, major in digital media & design 

Bozeman, MT 

• Personal best pole vault of 17’0″/5.18m ranks fifth in school history 

• Notched second place in the pole vault at the Kentucky Invitational and the Tom Jones Invitational 

• Earned a slot at the NCAA East Preliminaries 

Women 

Celera Barnes – Graduate Student, bachelor’s degree in kinesiology; masters in medical sciences 

Ventura, CA 

• Five time All-America in her career, including three AA honors at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championship 

• First-team All-America in the 100m and 4×400 relay second-team AA in the 4×100 relay in 2021 

• Ran leadoff on a 4x100m relay that ranks third in NCAA history and holds the school record 

Molly Leppelmeier – Senior, major in computer science 

McComb, OH 

• Honorable mention All-America at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships 

• School record in the hammer throw with a fling of 212′ 

• Ranks in UK all-time top 10 in five events: hammer, discus, weight throw, indoor & outdoor shot put 

Megan Moss – Sophomore, major in human health sciences — pharmacy 

Nassau, Bahamas 

• Earned five All-American honors during the indoor/outdoor season; has seven AAs in a two-year career 

• First-team All-America for the 4×400 relay that finished fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and eighth at the Outdoor Championships 

• Two-time SEC Silver Medalist, including running opening leg of school-record 4x400m indoor relay 

Abby Steiner – Junior, major in exercise science 

Dublin, OH 

• NCAA Indoor Champion in the 200m dash 

• Tied NCAA indoor record and the fifth-fastest indoor time in world history, 22.38 

• Eleven-time All-America in her career, including three during the 2021 indoor season (60m, 200m, 4x400m) 

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