Alabama track and field competed in the Crimson Tide Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Sam Bailey Track and Field stadium and walked away with seven event titles and 40 top 10 finishes. Five athletes moved up in the program’s all-time top 10 list this weekend.
Head coach Dan Waters shared his thoughts on this past weekend’s meet.
“It was a great weekend,” Waters said. “Obviously, the first thing I’ve got to say is that I’m just so happy and proud of everyone that helped put this together. It takes a complete army to put on a track meet like this.”
The Crimson Tide opened this event on Friday with the four throwers cracking the top five in their respective events.
Junior Ruben Banks claimed third place in the men’s hammer throw with his 62.91-meter mark. Banks has finished on the podium in every indoor and outdoor event he has competed in this year. Junior Tommy Danner finished fifth with a 50.52-meter heave.
Graduate Student Chandler Hayden’s 62.72-meter throw earned second place in the women’s weight throw. She now holds the sixth-best mark in program history.
In the women’s discus throw, graduate student Amani Heaven claimed fourth place with a toss of 49.96 meters.
“The performances that we have at home, and the way people compete, having friends and family in the stands, it just makes you feel really good,” Waters said.
The Crimson Tide competed in 23 different events on Saturday to close out the weekend.
Freshman Doris Lemngole won first place in the women’s 1,500-meter minutes, 11.90 seconds is the fourth best in program history and the fourth best on the NCAA performance list.
The team of junior Jekovan Rhetta, junior Tarsis Orogot, junior Josh Thomas and senior Matthew Weaver came away with second place in the men’s 4×100 relay finishing with a time of 39.43seconds.
Rhetta and Orogot also competed in the men’s 100-meter dash, where Rhetta finished runner-up with a time of 10.40 seconds and Orogot finished fourthin 10.48 seconds.
Sophomore Lilly Walters raced to first place in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with her 10:28.46 time, giving her the second-best time in program history. Junior Macy Schelp claimed third place with a new personal best time of 10:44.19, which is also the eighth-best time in program history.
SEC freshman of the week Samuel Ogazi won first place in the men’s 200-meter dash with his time of 20.71 seconds.
Sophomore Caelyn Harris and junior Miracle Ailes finished first and second in the women’s long jump. Harris locked up gold by getting to 6.41 meters, and Ailes reached 6.16 meters for runner up.
The podium finishes continued to roll in as senior Chris Robinson (second, 1:49.52) and junior Khaleb McRae (third, 1.49.55) brought in top three finishes in the men’s 800-meter. A time of 46.12 seconds gave graduate student Hasani Barr a first-place finish in the men’s 400-meter. Junior Carson Burian won gold in the men’s 1,500-meter with a 3:49.98.
Junior Louis Martinez reached a mark vaulted his way to second in men’s pole vault. On the women’s side, junior Holly Foley (second, 3.90 meters) achieved a new personal best.
Alabama added a few more second place finishes as Heaven grabbed second in women’s shot put with a 15.75-meter toss. The squad of freshman Ariike Elijah, junior Na’Taja Ballard, junior Milan Fields and junior Margaret Conteh finished as the runner-up in the women’s 4×400-meter relay.
The Crimson Tide wrapped up the night claiming first and second place in the men’s 4×400-meter relay race. The team of Robinson, Orogot, Weaver and graduate student Spencer Gudgel finished first with a 3:08.52. The combination of McRae, Ogazi, senior Jonathan Martin and senior Clayton Elder grabbed second place with a time of 3:08.57.
“We got a lot of great performances, and we’re super proud,” Waters said.
Alabama will return to action Thursday through Saturday competing in the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.
