The superstar distance runner claimed five NCAA Individual Championships during the 2023-24 campaign, the first female runner in NCAA history to do so.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Parker Valby has been named the 2024 Roy F. Kramer SEC Female Athlete of the Year, capping a season that featured five individual NCAA titles, four individual SEC titles, three collegiate records in distance events, and her name on the U.S. Track and Field roster to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Valby and LSU’s Jayden Daniels were awarded this year’s top SEC individual honor on Tuesday.
“The SEC is pleased to honor Parker and Jayden as this year’s Roy F. Kramer Athletes of the Year,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “It takes an exceptional level of discipline and commitment to achieve at highest level of competition, a level that has been reached by Parker and Jayden with the consistency necessary to be called the best of the best. These young people are great examples of what it means to be a student-athlete in the Southeastern Conference.”
“Incredibly proud of Parker and all that she has accomplished this year,” Gators Head Coach Mike Holloway said of Valby. “She has got to be considered the best female distance runner in NCAA history. I’m super proud of her, and of Coaches Will and Sam Palmer”
“This is a tremendous honor for Parker, our program, and the University of Florida,” Florida Associate Head Coach for Cross Country Will Palmer said. “The SEC is home to some of the very best young athletes in the world. It’s been a pleasure guiding her through the back half of her collegiate career and this award is a testament to both how far she’s come and how fantastic this year has been.”
Valby is the first female runner in NCAA history to win five NCAA individual distance titles in a single season – and she claimed all in at least meet record times. She started her 2023-24 national title streak by being first to win the NCAA Cross Country title in a sub-19 minute time. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, she reset her 5,000m collegiate record to 14:52.79 to win by almost 17 seconds. Less than 24 hours later, Valby set a meet record of 8:41.50 to win the 3,000m title.
During the outdoor season, Valby shaved 28 seconds off the previous collegiate record to win the Bryan Clay Invitational at 30:50.43 on April 12. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, she set the meet record to win the NCAA Outdoor 10,000m. On the NCAA Championships’ final day, Valby successfully defended her 5,000m title with a collegiate-best time (14:52.18). All of her NCAA titles were won by at least a five-second margin.
At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Valby finished second in the 10,000m to earn a spot in the Paris Games. She was the only collegiate athlete to participate in the event.
She was named the USTFCCCA 2023 cross country, 2024 Indoor and Outdoor National Athlete of the Year, while also becoming just the fifth to win both the cross country and track & field Honda Awards in a single academic year. Valby is the 2023 USTFCCCA Women’s Cross Country National Scholar Athlete of the Year and a SEC Academic Honor Roll member. Valby graduated cum laude with her bachelor’s degree in Sports Management in May.
The six-time SEC Champion and nine-time USTFCCCA All-American won all 14 races competed in 2023-24 season and holds three collegiate records (indoor 5,000m, outdoor 5,000m, outdoor 10,000m).
The 2023 SEC Cross Country Runner of the Year, 2024 SEC Indoor Runner of the Year and 2024 SEC Outdoor Runner of the Year helped Florida to runner-up finishes at both the 2024 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor meets. Valby is among the three finalists for 2024 The Bowerman Award.
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This is the second consecutive year that Florida has taken home the top individual honor for an athlete in the Southeastern Conference, as Valby takes the title one year after Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas was tabbed for the honor. This is the 16th time in school history that a Gator has been awarded an SEC Athlete of the Year honor, which is the most of any school in the Southeastern Conference.
History of SEC Athlete of the Year
Roy F. Kramer Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Year Recipients
Year
Male
Female
2024
Jayden Daniels, LSU (football)
Parker Valby, Florida (track and field)
2023
Dylan Crews, LSU (baseball)
Trinity Thomas, Florida (gymnastics)
2022
Bryce Young, Alabama (football)
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (basketball)
2021
DeVonta Smith, Alabama (football)
Madison Lilley, Kentucky (volleyball)
2020
Joe Burrow, LSU (football)
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina (basketball)
2019
Grant Holloway, Florida (track)
Maria Fassi, Arkansas (golf)
2018
Caeleb Dressel, Florida (swimming)
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina (basketball)
2017
Brent Rooker, Mississippi State (baseball)
Kendell Williams, Georgia (track & field)
2016
Jarrion Lawson, Arkansas (track & field)
Bridget Sloan, Florida (gymnastics)
2015
Andrew Benintendi, Arkansas (baseball)
Lauren Haeger, Florida (softball)
2014
A.J. Reed, Kentucky (baseball)
Hannah Rogers, Florida (softball)
2013
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M (football)
Allison Schmitt, Georgia (swimming)
2012
Anthony Davis, Kentucky (basketball)
Brooke Pancake, Alabama (golf)
2011
John-Patrick Smith, Tennessee (tennis)
Kayla Hoffman, Alabama (gymnastics)
2010
Mark Ingram, Alabama (football)
Susan Jackson, LSU (gymnastics)
2009
Tim Tebow, Florida (football)
Courtney Kupets, Georgia (gymnastics)
2008
Tim Tebow, Florida (football)
Candace Parker, Tennessee (basketball)
2007
David Price, Vanderbilt (baseball)
Monica Abbott, Tennessee (softball)
2006
Xavier Carter, LSU (track & field)
Seimone Augustus, LSU (basketball)
2005
Ryan Lochte, Florida (swimming)
Kirsty Coventry, Auburn (swimming)
2004
Alistair Cragg, Arkansas (cross country/track)
Jeana Rice, Alabama (gymnastics)
2003
Alistair Cragg, Arkansas (cross country/track)
LaToya Thomas, Mississippi State (basketball)
2002
Walter Lewis, LSU (track & field)
Andree’ Pickens, Alabama (gymnastics)
2001
Matias Boeker, Georgia (tennis)
Amy Yoder Begley, Arkansas (cross country/track)
2000
Kip Bouknight , South Carolina (baseball)
Kristy Kowal, Georgia (swimming)
1999
Tim Couch, Kentucky (football)
Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee (basketball)
1998
Peyton Manning, Tennessee (football)
Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee (basketball)
1997
Danny Wuerffel, Florida (football)
Trinity Johnson, South Carolina (softball)
1996
Danny Wuerffel, Florida (football)
Saudia Roundtree, Georgia (basketball)
1995
Todd Helton, Tennessee (baseball)
Jenny Hansen, Kentucky (gymnastics)
1994
Corliss Williamson, Arkansas (basketball)
Nicole Haislett, Florida (swimming)
1993
Jamal Mashburn, Kentucky (basketball)
Nicole Haislett, Florida (swimming)
1992
Shaquille O’Neal, LSU (basketball)
Vicki Goetze, Georgia (golf)
1991
Shaquille O’Neal, LSU (basketball)
Daedra Charles, Tennessee (basketball)
1990
Alec Kessler, Georgia (basketball)
Dee Foster, Alabama (gymnastics)
1989
Derrick Thomas, Alabama (football)
Bridgette Gordon, Tennessee (basketball)
1988
Will Perdue, Vanderbilt (basketball)
Dara Torres, Florida (swimming)
1987
Cornelius Bennett, Alabama (football)
Lillie Leatherwood King, Alabama (track & field)
1986
Bo Jackson, Auburn (football)
Jennifer Gillom, Ole Miss (basketball)
1985
Will Clark, Mississippi State (baseball)
Penney Hauschild, Alabama (gymnastics)
1984
Terry Hoage, Georgia (football)
Tracy Caulkins, Florida (swimming)
1983
Herschel Walker, Georgia (football/track and field)
1982
Buck Belue, Georgia (football/baseball)
1981
Rowdy Gaines, Auburn (swimming)
1980
Kyle Macy, Kentucky (basketball)
1979
Reggie King, Alabama (basketball)
1978
Jack Givens, Kentucky (basketball)
1977
Larry Seivers, Tennessee (football)
1976
Harvey Glance, Auburn (track & field)
