It’s Hall of Fame weekend at Kentucky, and a current Wildcat was inspired by a former one being honored at Kroger Field.

In the second quarter vs. Ohio, Dane Key jumped over a Bobcat defender on a 36-yard catch-and-run to get the Cats to the Ohio two-yard line. Key’s moves mimicked those of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the former Kentucky track star and four-time Olympic gold medalist who is part of this year’s UK Athletics Hall of Fame class. He finished the day with seven catches for 145 yards, both career highs. Key didn’t score a touchdown, but if he had, he wanted to honor Sydney with a hurdle celebration. The incredible highlight will have to do.

“I did say, if I score, I’m going to try to do a hurdle celebration but I didn’t score, so I was like, I guess I did it right there so I hope she saw it. I hope my form was pretty good.”

We give it a 10/10:

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Key’s big day came after a somewhat slow start to his junior season. In the first three games, he totaled eight catches for 119 yards. After being tackled on a similar play in the season opener vs. Southern Miss, he vowed to channel Sydney and hurdle someone the next time opportunity struck.

“I said a couple of weeks ago, I was like, man, against Southern Miss, I got tackled. I was like, I should have jumped over him. So, throughout the weeks, I was like, I need to just jump over somebody and I saw him. I saw him getting low. I was like, here he goes. I was able to do it.”

UK Athletics honors 2024 Hall of Fame Class

Sydney was one of six Wildcats inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend. Fellow track star Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who won the gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles for Puerto Rico in the Tokyo Olympics and bronze in Paris, is also part of the class and was recognized during the first half alongside Sydney, a proud moment for Hurdle U. At halftime, they were joined by the rest of the class, John Cropp (administrator/coach), Henrik Larsen (rifle), Jodie Meeks (men’s basketball), and Corey Peters (football). Even in the blazing heat, the Kroger Field crowd gave each Wildcat a big ovation.

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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: “I would not be the woman I am, had I not attended UK”

The 2024 class was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame last night. In her speech, McLaughlin-Levrone thanked everyone who was part of her journey at Kentucky, which helped her become one of the most dominant athletes in the world. As she said, she may have only been in Lexington for a year (2017-18) but it included so many lessons that she dedicated an entire chapter in her book to it.

“There were significant moments of growth, of joy that could never be replaced. There were people, many of which are sitting in this room, that are more than I can explain, in terms of friendship. Teammates that went through the trenches of college track with me and counselors and mentors who were a haven during that time.

“My year here was hard, I’m not gonna act like it wasn’t, as it is for many college athletes all over the country, but I wouldn’t change it for the world, honestly.”

“I would not be the woman I am, had I not attended UK,” she added. “Though with only one year under my belt, I do not have a degree. Sorry, Mom. I learned more than I could have imagined.”

McLaughlin-Levrone also appeared on the SEC Now pregame show (bumping Matt Jones, much to his chagrin), where she showed off one of her other talents: juggling.

Is there anything Sydney can’t do?

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