It’s time to hit the road for the University of Alabama track teams. After competing at home the past two weekends, the teams will travel to Gainesville, Florida, this weekend for the 
Florida Relays.

Coach Dan Waters said both the men’s and women’s teams took advantage of competing at home in the Crimson Tide Invitational. Waters said he was especially proud of the results, considering how hard everyone is working in practice right now.

“I thought we performed at a very high level and showed a lot of encouraging development,” he said. “It was an excellent overall showing for us, particularly in that we beat a couple of SEC opponents in the 
team standings.”

Sophomore Joe Williams was one of the athletes who had a great performance at home, finishing second in his discus event. Williams said the team is excited to get back outside.

“I think we are hungry,” Williams said. “We want to do something with outdoor that I think we had the pieces to do with indoor, but we just never put 
them together.”

Waters said the tone the team sets early on will be crucial later. He said the team tries to improve every week, and several top athletes such as Remona Burchell will be debuting this weekend for that reason.

This weekend’s trip to Florida could be an especially difficult one for Alabama because both Florida’s men’s and women’s teams are currently ranked No. 2 in the 
country. Sophomore Lakan Taylor said this meet was too important for the team to let Florida’s talent 
intimidate them.

“[Early season meets are] very important,” Taylor said. “I don’t think our mindset going into it is worrying 
about Florida.”

Despite the importance of the meet, Williams said the team should not take their events too seriously. He said he has fun when he competes, which helps his focus, and that in turn helps 
him succeed.

Williams said he is confident the team can do well this weekend. He said a good showing at Florida could be important at the end of the season.

“If I can compete on a big stage at Florida, then I can compete on a big stage at 
nationals,” he said.