Abby Steiner and Luke Brown Named SEC Runner and Freshman Field Athletes of the Year
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky track & field senior sprinter Abby Steiner and freshman jumper Luke Brown have been named the Southeastern Conference Indoor track & field Women’s Runner of the Year and Men’s Freshman Field Athlete of the Year respectively by the SEC on Wednesday afternoon.
Steiner earned this award through consistent collegiate and school record-breaking performances.
Steiner shocked the world on February 26 when she ran the fastest indoor 200m in American history and second fastest in world history at 22.09 seconds to earn the SEC gold. This was her third year in a row winning the 200m SEC gold medal and third time breaking the collegiate record.
She broke her own collegiate record, the SEC Championships record, school record, meet record and Gilliam Indoor Stadium record.
The previous fastest indoor 200m in American history was Gwen Torrence’s 22.33 at the USA Championship in 1996.
The reigning national champion is now .22 away from Jamaican Merlene Ottey’s 21.87 world record.
In addition to her 200m gold, Steiner also won bronze in the 60m with a time of 7.19 and was a member of the bronze medal-winning 4x400m relay (3:25.89) that ran under the previous collegiate record.
At Clemson in February, Steiner tied the 60m school record Dezerea Bryant set in 2014, with the top time of the 60m semifinals (7.12). It was also the fastest women’s 60m time of the day, including prelims, semifinals and finals.
The senior sprinter has won SEC Female Runner of the Week twice this season along with winning USTFCCCA Athlete of the Week three times and was recently named the SEC Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year while also being on the Bowerman Watchlist all season.
Brown, a freshman from Jamaica has consistently impressed as the top freshman jumper in the SEC. He earned All-SEC Freshman Team honors through being the top freshman finisher in the triple jump at SEC Championships (fourth, 53’1.5″/16.19m).
Brown has broken the triple jump school record three times in his first season with Kentucky, with the current record sitting at 53’5″/16.28m from his performance at the Tiger Paw Invitational.
He first broke the school record in his first competition as a Wildcat, jumping 51’8.25″/15.75m at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville in December.
Both Steiner and Brown will compete in NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham Alabama from Friday, March 11 to Saturday, March 12.
Follow Kentucky Track and Field and Cross Country on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and at UKathletics.com.
