Parker Valby, a junior at the University of Florida, continues to prove herself as one of the top runners the NCAA has ever seen.
At the NCAA Division I indoor championships, she broke her own record in the indoor 5,000 meters, a record she had previously set just three months before.
Her original record was 14:56, making Valby the first female NCAA and the youngest American athlete to break 15 minutes. But at championships, she crushed that record by four seconds, finishing in 14:52.
Valby was coming off a great cross country season, in which she won the cross country Division I championship. This indoor season, she ran on her team’s distance medley relay, and they took first and now hold the SEC championship record of 10:53.29.
All of this resulted in her receiving the SEC Co-Runner of the Year award with middle-distance runner Michaela Rose from Louisiana State University.
Valby has been on a winning streak and has asserted dominance over all other athletes she competes against.
Her most recent record-breaking performance was at the Bryan Clay invite, in her 10,000-meter debut. Even during her first time running that race, she was able to run a collegiate record of 30:50.43 and become the 13th American woman to break 31 minutes in the 10K.
Her ability to perform at such a high standard in a new event is astounding, and Valby is only continuing to get better.
This is just the start of the outdoor track and field season. Given how much success she has already shown, her fans are excited to see what else she can do.
