Butler, Floyd Earn Annual SEC Indoor T&F Awards

ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia sprinters Aaliyah Butler and Will Floyd have each won Southeastern Conference indoor awards after helping to lead their teams to second place finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships, according to a league announcement Wednesday.

Butler, a junior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was named the SEC Women's Runner of the Year while Floyd, a sophomore from Seattle, Wash., was named the SEC Men's Newcomer Runner of the Year.

Butler becomes the first Lady Bulldog in history to garner the honor, which was first awarded by the league in 2004.  Floyd's honor is the first of its kind for Georgia after the SEC started this type of accolade this year.

Bulter took over the No. 2 all-time collegiate/American spots and the No. 6 all-time world spot in the 400-meter dash by snagging the SEC title with a meet and school record 49.78.  This topped Olympic medalist Lynna Irby's seven-year-old school record (50.62).  Butler returned as the anchor on the winning 4x400m relay team at the conference meet.

After SEC award voting was complete, Butler finished as the national runner-up in the 400m and was a leg on the second-place 4x400m relay team at Nationals after the quartet clocked a school record.  Her relay split of 49.48 at NCAAs ranks No. 2 on the all-time world list.

Floyd scored eight points for the Bulldogs with a silver medal finish in the SEC 400m final.  His personal best time of 45.24 shot him to No. 5 on the national list and No. 4 on UGA's all-time top-10 list.  Floyd also ran a leg on the sixth-place 4x400m relay team at SECs.

Two weeks later, Floyd captured Georgia's third consecutive NCAA men's 400m crown before running the leadoff leg on the Bulldogs' winning 4x400m squad.

What's Next For The Bulldogs?: The Bulldogs start their outdoor season at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (Atlanta) and the Black and Gold Invitational (Orlando, Fla.) on March 21-22.

Where To Find Bulldog News: Results and recaps from the NCAA Indoor Championships will be found at georgiadogs.com.  News and updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

University of Georgia Athletics

Players Mentioned

Aaliyah Butler

Will Floyd

Related Videos