For Alabama track and field, the past week was one of staunch competition. The Crimson Tide participated in two meets, one in Austin, Texas, and one at Stanford University in Stanford, California, against some of the most skilled and talented opponents in the country. 

“In the second weekend of the season, there’s always room for improvement, especially when transitioning from indoor to outdoor,” said head coach Dan Waters. “With that in mind, we had athletes competing – and succeeding – all over the country against some elite competition.” 

The first day, Wednesday in Texas, March 29, i began a streak of record-setting — graduate student Chelsea Igberaese set a 62.39 (204-8) throwing mark on her third throw in the hammer throw, the fifth highest in the team’s history. She finished eighth in the event.  

Similarly, sophomore Chris Robinson clocked 50.05 in the 400-meter hurdles preliminaries, the fourth highest in the team’s history — and qualifying for the event final later that week.  

In Robinson’s event final, he came up with another historic performance. He followed up in the final with a school-record breaking time of 49.10, which was also good enough to win the event.  

There were three other top ten performances that day in Texas from Crimson Tide athletes: the sprint relay contingent, Alan de Falchi,,in men’s discus throw, Taylor Gorum in women’s shot put, and Tarsis Orogot in the 100-meter dash with a heat-winning 10.07. Orogot also set the mark for the fourth fastest time in the team’s history.  

On Saturday, the third and final day of the Texas meet, more spectacular finishes followed. The men’s 4×400 team, consisting of Khaleb McRae, Tarsis Orogot, Leander Forbes, and Chris Robinson, came away with a 2:59.15 finish, which broke another school record. They now hold the No. 2 time in the country and the fifth-fastest in the history of NCAA competition.  

To cap off the final day, the Crimson Tide came away with five top-10 finishes across a multitude of events. The team returned home with 25 top-ten finishes across events, and quite a few records.  

On the far coast, at Alabama’s Stanford meet, another athlete lay in wait with a powerful performance. Sophomore Victor Kiprop ran the 10,000 and set another school record, coming in at 27:57.63.  

“The goal is to build off this weekend as we progress further into the outdoor season,” Waters said.  

Alabama track and field will next compete in the Joe Walker Invitational at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, from April 7 to 8.