Jan. 3, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn track and field sophomore sprinters Nathon Allen and Akeem Bloomfield were named pre-season Indoor All-Americans in the 400m by FloTrack. Allen is the front-runner in the rankings while Bloomfield sits in third.
The Tigers are the only team to have two representatives in the rankings that includes fellow SEC runners Mylik Kerley of Texas A&M, Fasasi Kunle of Florida and Tennessee's Nathan Strother.
Allen, a product of Spanish Town, Jamaica, finished runner-up in the 400m at the 2017 Outdoor NCAA Championships with a time of 44.69 to earn first-team All-American honors. The Olympic silver medalist also finished runner-up at the SEC Championships, clocking a 44.52, the third-fastest mark in school history.
Allen also competed at the 2017 IAAF World Championships where he was the top collegiate finisher in the 400m final with a fifth-place finish. He clocked a blistering 44.19 in the semifinal, shattering the school record.
Bloomfield, who also hails from Jamaica, set the school record in the Indoor 400m at the 2017 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships with a mark of 45.43, which finished as the third-best time in the nation. He earned second-team All-American honors at the Indoor National Championships with a 10th-place finish.
Bloomfield also earned first-team All-American honors at the 2017 Outdoor NCAA Championships in the 400m, clocking a 45.13 to finish fifth. His personal-best 44.74 mark at the NCAA East Preliminaries won the event and ranks in the top-10 in school history.
Fellow sophomore Natalliah Whyte was also tabbed All-American in the women's 200m. The product of St. Catherine, Jamaica, earned All-Freshman honors at the 2017 SEC Outdoor Championships with a fifth-place finish. She broke the freshman record in the 200m with a time of 22.77 in the SEC Outdoor preliminaries.
A full list of pre-season rankings can be found here.
The 2018 indoor season begins with a trip to Nashville, Tenn. on Jan. 12-13, for the Commodore Invitational.