The University of Alabama’s Alexis Paine set a school record in the women’s pole vault, and Jonathan Reid set a new personal best in the men’s triple jump, as both earned All-America honors Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships held at the University of Arkansas. Paine finished seventh in the pole vault while Reid placed fifth in the triple jump.
Overall, all five Alabama athletes earned first-team All-America honors at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships. The honors by Paine and Reid followed top-eight finishes by Diondre Batson (8th in the men’s 200 meters), Kamal Fuller (eighth in the men’s long jump) and Krystle Schade (eighth in the women’s high jump) Friday. Alabama’s five individual All-Americans mark the most by the Crimson Tide since Alabama produced six individual All-Americans in 2001.
Paine, from Mobile, Ala., broke the school record in the event for the fourth time this season by clearing 13 feet, 11 1/4 inches (4.25 meters) on her second attempt at that height. Paine has improved her personal best in the pole vault this season by more than 6inches, having first set the UA record on Jan. 26 at the Indiana Relays with a clearance of 13-5 1/4. She surpassed that standard each of the last three weekends, winning the SEC Indoor title along the way. Paine finished seventh in the event behind Natalia Bartnovskaya of the University of Kansas, who cleared 14-7 3/4. A 2012 All-American at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Paine added the indoor All-America honor to her resume one more time this indoor season due to her top-eight finish.
Reid’s performance Saturday continued his drastic improvement over the course of the 2013 indoor season. He leaped a new personal-best distance of 52 feet- 5 1/4 inches (15.98 meters) to place fifth in the standings. Texas Tech’s Bryce Lamb won the event with a leap of 55-7 3/4 (16.96 meters). Reid has improved his PR by 9 inches this season, a remarkable improvement. His leap on Saturday ranks as the sixth-best triple jump in Alabama school history.
In the team standings, Oregon won the women’s title with 56 points with Alabama placing 46th with three points. Arkansas won the men’s national championship with 74 points with Alabama in a tie for 32nd with six points.
Editors Note: Alexis Paine is also a sports reporter for the Crimson White.
