‘The best is yet to come.’ UK’s Steiner wins NCAA title with record-setting sprint.
University of Kentucky junior sprinter Abby Steiner won the 200-meter dash in record-tying fashion at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday, setting numerous milestones in the process.
Steiner had to battle Alabama’s Tamara Clark the entire way, but — as she has in all seven races this season — held on to strike gold.
“Abby had to go get it tonight,” UK Coach Lonnie Greene said. “Abby is very talented, but she got a great challenge from Tamara Clark and had to earn it … There is a connection that she and (UK sprint coach Tim Hall) have. They work hand-in-hand and she believes in his vision. The best is yet to come for her, I’m excited.”
Steiner’s time of 22.38 seconds tied the all-time indoor collegiate record and NCAA Indoor Championships record, tied for the second-fastest indoors time in U.S. history, tied for the fifth-fastest indoors time in world history, and broke her own school and Southeastern Conference record time of 22.41.
“It’s amazing, it hasn’t sunk in yet,” Steiner said. “Way back in the fall, Coach Hall and I started talking about this title and the record when training began. Tonight we talked about, ‘Isn’t it amazing that we are here?’ He believed in me from the beginning and that’s how it played out.”
The UK men’s 4x400 relay also turned in a school-record performance. The unit of Jacob Smith, Lance Lang, Kennedy Lightner and Dwight St. Hillaire turned in a time of 3:03.61 en route to a second-place finish behind North Carolina A&T, which struck gold with the nation’s best time of the year.
As a team, UK’s women finished 13th while the men tied for 14th. It was the men’s best NCAA Indoors showing since a seventh-place finish in 1996.
Seniors key another UK volleyball romp
Behind the four veterans that were honored before the match, the No. 3 UK volleyball team ran its winning streak to 16 in a 3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 21-25, 25-13) win over Mississippi on Senior Day in Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.
Seniors Gabby Curry, Madison Lilley, Kendyl Paris and Avery Skinner all contributed to the victory.
Skinner led the charge, earning her second double-double of the season with 16 kills and 10 digs. Lilley added four kills on six swings and tacked on nine assists. Curry had 11 digs and four assists while Paris had four kills on 11 swings with a block.
Kentucky (16-0) remains the only undefeated team in the SEC and has a two-match lead over Florida in the league standings. UK will meet the eighth-ranked Gators in Gainesville next weekend for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader.
Men’s soccer bounces back
No. 10 Kentucky (9-2-1, 1-1 Conference USA) bounced back from its first loss of the spring with a 3-1 win at Florida Atlantic (3-2-2, 0-2 C-USA) on Saturday.
The winner was scored by Eythor Bjorgolfsson. Clay Holstad and Jansen Wilson also scored.
Senior pitcher sizzles for UK baseball
Senior left-hander Mason Hazelwood was dominant Saturday, striking out a career-high 12 in UK baseball’s 6-1 victory over visiting Georgia State.
Hazelwood allowed three hits and a walk. He punched out five through the first two innings and his dozen strikeouts were the most for a UK pitcher since Zack Thompson had 13 vs. Georgia on Mar. 29, 2019. UK (10-2) pitchers combined for 19 total strikeouts, the most in a nine-inning game since at least 2005.
UK softball drops second straight
Miranda Stoddard threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief but three critical errors cost the No. 9 Kentucky softball team, as it fell 3-1 to No. 5 Florida on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.
Grace Baalman’s solo homer in the top of the second gave UK the lead. The Cats left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth.
