UK’s Abby Steiner is missing one thing on her college track résumé. She aims to fix that.
In the words of Kentucky track and field head coach Lonnie Greene, it’s the beginning of championship cycle for the Wildcats.
Within the next month, the Kentucky track and field teams will compete at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Oxford, Miss.), the NCAA East Regionals (Bloomington, Ind.) and the NCAA Championships (Eugene, Ore.).
Up first is this week’s SEC meet, which runs from Thursday through Saturday and offers the most accomplished of UK track stars the opportunity to make history.
“The Southeastern Conference championships are such a competitive meet, such a bloodbath, this is much tougher than the national championships,” Greene said. “Getting to the national championships (from) this meet, is much tougher.”
Among those aiming to add to their college track résumés is senior Abby Steiner, an American, collegiate and SEC record-holder in the indoor 200 meters and the indoor 300 meters.
Steiner is an All-American and NCAA indoor champion, and she recently set a new venue record at UK’s outdoor facility in the 200m with a personal best time of 22.05 seconds, the third fastest time in collegiate history and second fastest in the NCAA this season.
On Wednesday, Steiner was named the SEC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, having also won the award for the indoor season.
But one of the few boxes left unchecked in her sparkling college career has been success on the outdoor stage.
As a freshman in 2019, just months after devoting herself to track full-time (Steiner was previously a two-sport athlete at UK, also playing soccer) she made it to the SEC outdoor championships, but failed to win any of her events, finishing second in the 200 and third as part of the 4-by-100 relay.
The 2020 SEC outdoor championships never happened due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Steiner was forced to sit out most of the 2021 outdoor season, including the SEC championships, because of a left Achilles injury.
“Even in times when she wasn’t at 100%, she was still in my mind head over heels better than every other athlete in the country,” Greene said.
This outdoor season, Steiner has already run an outdoor personal best in the 200 (also the fastest 200 in collegiate history into a headwind over 1.7 meters per second) and broke the outdoor 100-meter Kentucky school record with the fifth-fastest time in collegiate history.
“It was really just about stepping back and making sure we were focused on the bigger goals and all of the future world championships meets my senior year and all of that stuff,” Steiner said of sitting out so many meets in 2021. “I think putting it into perspective a little bit with that made it easier, that it wasn’t my last year and I wasn’t trying to do everything in one season. I learned how to be patient, I think, throughout that journey.”
Now with Steiner back to full health, Greene is not shying away from the expectations that surround her.
“She’ll give you whatever’s in her tank, and that’s all a coach can ask. . . . She represents the brand well on and off the track,” Greene added. “She comports herself in a way that is second-to-none. . . . The sky’s the limit for where she’s getting ready to go. At the end of the day, if done well, if done right, her name’s going to be up in lights. I might be at the World Championships crying like a big sissy when she medals.”
Steiner — who graduated from Kentucky last weekend with a degree in human health sciences and kinesiology — is able to compete in one more college season, if she chooses to, after the NCAA added a year of eligibility for athletes in school for the 2020 season.
On Monday, Steiner said she hasn’t made a decision about her future beyond the end of this college season, which concludes with the NCAA Championships in early June.
“As far as those meets post NCAA season, they’re on the mind a little bit, but definitely in the back right now,” Steiner said. “I think if you get too ahead of yourself I’m not going to appreciate the moments I have in college right now and I want to make the most of being a collegiate athlete and being on the Kentucky team.”
Given her graduation from college, and the potential final weeks of her collegiate career, Steiner struck an appreciative tone when describing her journey at UK from two-sport athlete to college track phenom.
“I hope that my journey can inspire other younger girls to not be scared of adversity and change and to face it head on,” Steiner said. “Everything happens for a reason. I just hope that my journey with injuries and becoming a two-sport athlete and then transitioning to one can help inspire people to go after their dreams and don’t be afraid of change that happens along the way.”
And what does Steiner — who has seven UK school records in her name — think of the expectations placed on her, even from her own head coach?
“There’s no pressure. I just have a lot of people supporting me, believing in me and I’m excited to do the best that I can and just have fun,” she said.
Other UK athletes to watch
At last year’s SEC outdoor championships, the Kentucky men’s team finished fifth while the women’s team was 11th.
In 2019, Steiner’s freshman season, the men’s team finished sixth while the women’s team recorded a podium finish in third place.
Kentucky has never won either the men’s team title (contested since the 1935-36 school year) or the women’s title (contested since the 1980-81 school year).
Among the other notable athletes to watch this week — in addition to Steiner — is graduate student pole vaulter Matt Peare, who has overcome a ruptured Achilles during his college career and has won a pair of SEC indoor titles as a junior and senior, and finished second in the event this season.
“Matt is special, he works hard just like Abby, same work ethic,” Greene said. “Our goal right now for Matt and Abby and the rest of this team is to navigate this championship cycle and get them out of each championship healthy.”
Also worthy of attention is Kentucky’s women’s 4x100m relay team, which ran a time of 42.46 seconds in April featuring Steiner, Shadajah Ballard, Masai Russell and Karimah Davis.
The UK men’s 4x400m relay team has the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this season. That relay featured Dwight St. Hillaire, Lance Lang, Kennedy Lightner and Brian Faust.
UK is bringing 53 team members to the meet.
SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships
When: Thursday through Saturday
Where: Ole Miss Track and Field Complex in Oxford, Miss.
Live broadcast: SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 12:00 PM.
