Kate Powers, Sharmelle Holmes Earn SEC Weekly Honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kentucky Track and Field athletes Kate Powers and Sharmelle Holmes earned laurels from the league office as honorees in the second round of Southeastern Conference Track & Field Weekly Awards.

Powers was named the SEC Field Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career after a school-record—and NCAA No. 2—heave of 22.63m/74-3.00 in the Vanderbilt Invite weight throw. Placing as the top collegian—and fourth place overall—Powers launched the 20-pound weight over three feet further than her previous school record of 21.64m/71-0.00 that she set last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial. Her throw topped the nation-leading mark entering the competition and finished the weekend as the second best in the country, just 0.03m behind Sara Killinen of Virginia Tech.

Powers has started her 2024-25 indoor campaign with authority, throwing personal best marks in all three of her starts this season. At the Louisville Opener in December, Powers won the event with a then-personal best throw of 21.52m/70-7.25, a mark that moved her into second all-time at Kentucky. She would then earn her first Kentucky record at her next competition, improving her lifetime best to 21.64m/71-0.00 to claim her second victory of the season.

The Hopkinton, Mass. Native is in her second season as a Wildcat, following up a stellar freshman campaign in 2023-24. Powers set Kentucky Freshman Records in the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer throw. In the outdoor season, Powers qualified for her first NCAA Championships in the hammer throw, finishing the year as a Second-Team All-American after placing ninth at the national meet. She also qualified for her first US Olympic Team Trials and placed 20th in her signature event.

Holmes earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors for the second consecutive week after re-breaking her freshman record in the 60m dash at Texas Tech’s Corky Classic. Holmes ran her semifinal race in 7.24 seconds to lower her personal best time by .05 seconds. Holmes demonstrated the consistency of her performance, running 7.25 seconds in the final to finish the meet as the 60m runner-up.

Holmes’ performance in Lubbock was on the heels of her breakout race at the McCravy Memorial where she broke Abby Steiner’s five-year-old freshman record in the 60m by running 7.29 seconds. The Winnsboro, S.C. native has now run a personal best in the 60m dash in all three of her meets during her fledgling freshman campaign. She currently ranks third in the SEC—and tenth in the NCAA—in the event.

Holmes entered her freshman season at Kentucky after a stellar prep career at Fairfield Central High School, highlighted by winning the 2023-24 Gatorade South Carolina Girls Track & Field Player of the Year award. Holmes won four individual state titles her senior year—100m, 200m, Long Jump, and 4x100m—and was named an All-American via her fourth-place finish in the 100m at the 2024 New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

The Wildcats will sit idle next week before returning to competition at the end of the month at the Razorback Invitational. Competition in Fayetteville will take place from January 31-February 1 at the Randal Tyson Track Center and will be broadcast on the SEC Network +.

Southeastern Conference Track & Field Weekly Awards – Week 2

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