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Tennessee Vols’ Christian Coleman named SEC Runner of the Year

By Caleb Calhoun

Jul 3, 2016; Eugene, OR, USA; Christian Coleman (left) competes during the men s 100m semifinals heats in the 2016 U.S. Olympic track and field team trials at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 3, 2016; Eugene, OR, USA; Christian Coleman (left) competes during the men s 100m semifinals heats in the 2016 U.S. Olympic track and field team trials at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee Volunteers junior sprinter Christian Coleman was named the Southeastern Conference Runner of the Year for the 2017 season.

It was a day of national recognition for the Tennessee Vols. While softball star Meghan Gregg was named as a First Team All-American, junior sprinter Christian Coleman was able to win SEC Runner of the Year.

The Southeastern Conference released its Outdoor Track and Field awards for 2017 on Wednesday.

Here’s what the press release said about Coleman.

"Coleman was the SEC Champion in the 100m and 200m dashes and became the first person in collegiate history to run a wind-legal 100m and 200m dashes under 10 and 20 seconds, respectively, at the same meet. He had the top 100m mark in the NCAA this season (9.93)."

With his success, Christian Coleman is carving out his own path as a superstar for the Tennessee Vols the way Justin Gatlin did with the program 15 years ago.

In fact, he surpassed Gatlin with his 200m time, which became the second-fastest in NCAA history.

The guy has been dominant in his sport. A native of Atlanta, he still has not lost a race this academic year. He also enters the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships from June 7-10 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. as a heavy favorite.

So he’s got the expectations on him to go with the awards. And he’s doing all of this as only a junior.

Coleman’s talents add to the rich tradition of the Tennessee track and field success. But he is historically great even by the school’s standards.

In addition to winning SEC Runner of the Year, Coleman was named First Team All-SEC.

But he’s not the only guy from Knoxville who earned recognition in this sport. Other Vols achieved All-SEC awards too.

Throwers Stamatia Scarvelis and Matthew Zajac were named to Second Team All-SEC, and Tristan Slater made the All-SEC Freshman Team.

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