The Alabama men’s and women’s track and field team started the outdoor season with a bang as they hosted the Alabama Relays at Sam Bailey Track and Field Stadium which started March 26 and concluded Sunday.
Members from both squads set personal bests. Sophomore Moses Kiptoo clocked the second best 5,000 meter time in the nation with a time of 14:22.57. For the women, junior Kim Laing set the eighth best 100 meter hurdle time in the nation this year.
Both coaches took the opening meet of the season with caution, but said they were pleased with the results from their respective squads.
“I don’t think the weekend could’ve gone any more perfect than it did,” head track and field coach Harvey Glance said. “I think we won races that we thought we could win. It was a great showing all weekend long from the start to the finish.”
The men began their run at the relays with Junior Brandon Spradley setting a career best in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.55. Junior, Shuan Gaiser also set a personal best in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.05, which earned him at 25th place.
In the 800 meter run, the Crimson Tide completed a one-two finish as sophomore Aaron Stockstell crossed the line at 1:50.60 followed by junior Fred Samoei who finished with a time of 1:50.84.
On Saturday, Laing placed first in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15:58. Overall on Saturday, the women recorded nine top-ten finishes.
The final day of the event saw the men record three titles while the women captured five top-five finishes.
The men’s 4×100 meter relay team, made up of Spradley, freshman Kirani James and seniors Ray Jadusingh and Matt Watson, set the sixth-fastest time in the nation.
“The 4×100 meter team, with the weather being this windy, they ran beyond my expectations,” Glance said. “They beat two teams that competed at the NCAA Championships last year and for them to run the sixth-fastest time in the nation in conditions like these is very encouraging.”
Women’s head coach Sandy Fowler said the meet was a good building point.
“I like to go from meet to meet being aggressive and building from each meet. I think this team knows my philosophy well and they know they need to strive for setting personal bests because if you don’t, you’re going to get eaten up in the SEC and if you do, you’ll never have a question once you get to the championship,” Fowler said.
The men and women will be in Gainesville, Fla., April 2-3 for the Florida Relays.
