The Alabama men’s track and field team got off to one of its best starts ever under coach Harvey Glance in the outdoor season over the weekend at the Alabama Relays in Tuscaloosa.

“We had a great opener, one of our best, and a lot of good individual and good relay performances,” Glance said.

The Crimson Tide entered four relays and won three while finishing second in the other. They also had three individual winners, two runners-up and three third-place finishers.

The Tide’s 4×100 meter relay winning team and 4×400 meter relay second place team both have times ranked in the top ten nationally, as well as 800 meter winner Aaron Stockstell and 5,000 meter winner Moses Kiptoo. Glance said those numbers were a good indication the team is off to a good start.

The 4×1,500 meter relay team made up of junior Andrew Kirwa and sophomores Nathan Corder, Austin Duckworth and Moses Kiptoo also came in the first place, as did the distance medley relay team of juniors Fred Samoei, Spradley, Joel Rop and Julius Bor. The individual winners for the Tide were Aaron Stockstell in the 800 meter, Julius Bor in the 1,500 mete and Moses Kiptoo in the 5,000 meter.

The runner-up finishers were Fred Samoei in the 800 meter and Andrew Kirwa in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.

Brandon Spradley earned third in the 100 meter, and Joel Rop in the 1,500 meter and Mike Edwards in the high jump both earned third, as well.

One of the things Glance said stood out to him the most was consistency.

“We had consistency across the board and we’re looking for consistency,” Glance said. “That puts us in a good position to win championships.”

Glance also stressed the need for that consistency continuously.

“If we had to work on anything, it would be a need for consistency,” he said. “We need good things happening every week.”

After a mediocre indoor season, several runners were also happy with the way the first outdoor meet turned out.

“It was an overall good meet and a morale booster,” senior Ray Jadusingh said. “We need to get jumpstarted again and come out next meet and open up.”

Stockstell was also happy with the meet.

“It was a different race strategy for me and more mental,” Stockstell said. “I may have an off week but I just want to overall improve from week to week.”

Glance said he expects great things from this team.

“I hope we understand who we are, our identity, that we’re one of the best,” Glance said. “We are for real and not a fluke. We can hold our ground and be one of the best in the country.”

The Crimson Tide’s next meet is Friday and Saturday when they travel to Gainesville, Fla., for the Florida Relays.