Parker Valby and Will Palmer Capture SEC Yearly Awards

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During a historic season in which the Gators Women’s Cross Country team has been crowned the 2023 SEC Cross Country Champions and have punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships, two Gators are being honored for their success during the 2023 season.
 
As announced by the Southeastern Conference on Tuesday afternoon, Parker Valby has been crowned the SEC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year for the second year in a row while, in his first season coaching the Florida Gators, Coach Will Palmer was named SEC Women’s Coach of the Year.
 
Parker is the first woman to win the award in back to back seasons since Mercy Chelangat (University of Alabama) did so in 2020 and 2021.
 
Coach Palmer is the first Gator to win the award since Paul Spangler in 2012, when he too coached the Gators to an SEC Cross Country Championship.
 
BACK TO BACK FOR VALBY
 
Once again, Valby has put together, what can only be described as, a dominant season.
 
The Tampa, Florida native began her 2023 season at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Despite a competitive field that included former NCAA Cross Country Champions and twenty-one other ranked women’s programs, Valby placed first by a margin of 12.4 seconds. Valby slowly gained ground on the other leaders throughout the race as she led by just 0.6 seconds through the first 2000m, growing to a 7.5 second lead two-thirds of the way through the race, eventually ending in the 12.4 second advantage over runner-up finisher Katelyn Tuohy.
 
Her final mark, 19:17.2, was a Wisconsin Course record, edging out the previous record of 19:19.0, set in 2015, by two seconds.
 
For her effort, Parker was named SEC Women’s Co-Runner of the Week and USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Women’s Athlete of the Week.
 

For the 2⃣nd time this year! Congrats, @parker_valby!#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/ebLQGjvoCT

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) October 30, 2023

 
The redshirt junior continued her outstanding season two weeks later as she earned her second consecutive SEC Cross Country Individual Title at the SEC Cross Country Championships.

Valby completed the 6k course in Columbia, South Carolina in 18:37.5, a remarkable 33.8 seconds faster than the second place finisher. However, she did not sustain that lead the entire race.

 

At the 3000m mark Valby and Doris Lemngole of Alabama had separated themselves from the rest of the competitors. Just 1000m later, Lemngole decided to make…