‘It all came together at the right moment.’ UK’s Abby Steiner wins NCAA gold.

Kentucky’s Abby Steiner set a collegiate record in the 200 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on a soggy Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Steiner was focused until the finish, when she raised her arms and smiled broadly. Her time of 21.80 seconds bested LSU sophomore Favour Ofili’s record of 21.96 set this year. Ofili was second behind Steiner.

“We just took what’s happened this whole season as learning experiences. Every race is an opportunity to learn from it, and fix certain parts of my 200. So I think it all came together at the right moment,” said Steiner, whose time is also the best in the world this season.

Steiner’s victory, coupled with the 4-by-400 relay squad — Karimah Davis, Dajour Miles, Steiner and Alexis Holmes — also earning gold, helped Kentucky finish third in the team standings. Florida won the women’s team title with 74 points, a day after the Gators claimed the men’s championship. The Texas women were second with 64 points, and Kentucky had 50.

“Any time you’re at the end of the meet and you’re one of the teams on the infield, that means you’ve had a successful outing,” UK head coach Lonnie Greene said.

LSU’s Ofili previously had set the NCAA record in the 200 in April (21.96) and won her showdown with Steiner at the Southeastern Conference Championships last month.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Steiner said of her victory.

“Just looking back on the meet from last year, I was watching it from my couch, and so much has gone into just being at this meet in the first place. I’m just surrounded by so many amazing people at Kentucky, my family was able to be here, so these are moments I’m going to hold onto forever.”

UK’s collegiate record-holding 4-by-400 relay squad won the meet’s final event with a time of 3:22.55.

“Honestly, competing with such amazing talent around me motivates me to want to be good,” said Davis, who ran the leadoff leg. “Seeing how all of them care and put their all into this, I think it’s amazing to see how much we all come together and bring out amazing times.”

Steiner made up about a 25-meter deficit on the third leg, eventually clocking a 48.92 split before Holmes hammered out a dominant 50.22 anchor leg.

“I was just thinking about my relay team, our teammates that were watching, our coaches, I just really wanted to do well and perform for them and bring it home, so I was just trying to focus on getting to the line first,” Holmes said.

The 4-by-400 victory was also especially sweet for the team’s coach.

“That’s one of the individual events I’ve been chasing for 30 years, and to finally win one, that was a heck of a feeling as a coach,” Greene said.

The women’s 4-by-100-meter relay team — Shadajah Ballard, Steiner, Masai Russell and Davis — won NCAA silver with a time of 42.55 to score eight points.

Russell earned her first individual NCAA outdoor medal, a bronze in the 100-meter hurdles, running 12.81. Russell came back and scored five more points in the 400 hurdles, running 55.83 for fourth place.

Steiner earned bronze in the 100 meters with a time of 11.08 (+0.2), edged at the tape by Texas’ Julien Alfred (11.014) and Oregon’s Kemba Nelson (11.020).

Alexis Holmes ran a personal best 50.71 for fourth place and five points in the 400 meters.

More winners

Florida sophomore Talitha Diggs, daughter of four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs, won the 400 in a personal-best 49.99. BYU’s Kristie Schoffield also ran a personal-best 2:01.09 in the 800.

Ole Miss sophomore Sintayehu Vissa won the 1,500 in 4:09.42. BYU senior Courtney Wayment built a big lead and won the steeplechase in 9:16 flat, a new college and meet record.

LSU’s Alia Armstrong was the first to hit the first hurdle and went on to win the 100 hurdles in 12.57, holding off a late surge from Southern Cal’s Jasmine Jones. Britton Wilson of Arkansas won the 400 hurdles in 53.86.

North Carolina State’s Katelyn Tuohy defended her title in the 5,000, winning in 15:18.39.

“My last 100 meters was so hard, I was practically crawling it in,” Tuohy said. “But I was fortunate enough to have a big enough gap before then so I was able to hold on.”

Texas won the 4-by-100 relay in 42.42.

This story was originally published June 12, 2022 at 10:40 AM.