After winning National Athlete of the Year for Cross Country, Valby tallies her second National honor of the 2023-2024 academic year as she is named the NCAA Division I Women’s Runner of the Year for the 2024 Indoor Track & Field season.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 2024 NCAA Division I Champion in both the 3000m and 5000m, Parker Valby, has been voted the 2024 NCAA Division I National Track Athlete of the Year for the 2024 Indoor Season as announced by the USTFCCCA Monday afternoon.
After sweeping the conference, regional and national awards in Cross Country, Valby has once again been named as the top runner at each of the three levels during Indoor Track & Field. Valby was named SEC Women’s Co-Runner of the Year about two weeks ago and just last week was titled South Region Women’s Runner of the Year.
Award recipients were decided by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches following the conclusion of the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season.
The redshirt junior made history earl in the season when she became the first women in collegiate history to break 15 minutes in the 5000m. Competing in the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season opener in early December, Valby crossed the finish line in mind-breaking time of 14:56.11, leaving the NCAA Track & Field community speechless.
She resumed her indoor season at the SEC Indoor Championships as she tallied two gold medal performances, one as a member of the Women’s DMR team and the other in the 3000m. The Women’s DMR team of Elise Thorner, Laila Owens, Flomena Asekol and Valby earned a time of 10:53.29 which was a SEC Indoor Championship record and the No. 2 time on UF’s All-Time Top 10 List. The next day Valby recorded a finish of 8:42.29 which, at the time, as the Florida school record, SEC Championships record and the Randal Tyson Track Center facility record.
Valby’s 5000m collegiate record was set only to be broken by herself later in the season at the NCAA Indoor Championships. On route to claiming two individual championships, Valby cleared her previous collegiate record in the 5000m as she ran a time of 14:52.79 which also set a new meet record, facility record, school record and personal record. Her time also fell just 0.79 second short of the Olympic standard.
She then turned around the very next day and took to an extremely competitive 3000m field and walked away with a first place finish in meet record time (8:41.50). In her efforts, Valby became the first Gator in program history to be the NCAA Indoor Champion in the 5000m and the first Gator to be the Indoor Champion in the 3000m.
PARKER VALBY 2024 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD ACCOLADES
* NCAA Division I 3000m National Champion
* NCAA Division I 5000m National Champion
* USTFCCCA First Team All-American
* USTFCCCA South Region Women’s Runner of the Year
* SEC Women’s Co-Runner of the Year
* SEC 3000m Champion
* SEC DMR Champion
* All-SEC First Team
* 5000m Collegiate Record: 14:52.79
HEAR FROM HOLLOWAY
“I am extremely proud of Parker and of Coach Palmer for all their hard work and dedication that led to this incredible award. Excited to see what they have in store for the outdoor season.”
POINTS FROM PALMER
“This is a great honor for Parker and the Gators. Every time she stepped on the track this season she put on a show. I can’t wait to see her carry this momentum into the outdoor season!”
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