Florida runner named Freshman of the Year

Freshman Rebecca Lowe was named the SEC Freshman Runner of the Year on Tuesday, becoming just the second Gator to receive the honor. Tiandra Ponteen picked up the same honor in 2004.

Lowe won both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events at the SEC Championships, only the ninth athlete in conference history, and only the second Gator, to win both races in the same year. Lowe joins 1992 U.S. Olympian Shelly Steely as the other Gator to win both races in a single SEC Outdoor Championship (1985). She also became just the fifth athlete in school history to win more than one conference title in the same year, and the first since 2003.

Four UF women were named to the All-SEC first team: Evelien Dekkers (javelin), Natalie Knight (200 meters), Lowe (10,000 and 5,000 meters) and Shara Proctor (triple jump).

The Gator Track and Field program will compete in the NCAA East Regional in Tallahassee, beginning May 30.