The Alabama women’s track and field team has started the 2011 season strong.

In the Crimson Tide’s first meet of the season, the squad posted five top-10 finishes and six personal bests, and followed up that stellar performance with 20 top-10 finishes and 10 personal bests.

Things started getting hot for the Tide during the two-day event at the Kentucky Invitational, which took place at Kentucky’s Nutter Field House. Alabama continued Saturday at the Adidas Classic at Nebraska’s Bob DeVaney Sports Center.

“One of the biggest things that could stand in our way is the team’s mindset,” assistant coach Scott Roberts said. “We’re a little bit young and inexperienced, but despite that, if we have the right mindset, we can accomplish great things this year.”

At the Kentucky Invitational, junior Kaylon Eppinger represented the University well with a seventh place finish in the 60-meter hurdles (finals) and a 10th place finish in the 60-meter hurdles (prelims). Freshman Chloe Hetherton posted a second-place finish in the triple jump. Sophomore Wilamena Hopkins placed third in the shot put, and junior Amethyst Holmes placed third in the weight throw.

Among the many that placed in the top 10 at the Adidas Classic, Eppinger continued her string of dominant finishes with two first-place finishes in the 60m hurdles (prelims and finals). Eppinger and teammates Shani Chandler, Devon Romero and Camilla Armstead finished fifth in the 4-by-400 meter relay. Eppinger also finished ninth in the long jump.

“We graduated so much experience last year, and this year we have a lot of inexperience,” Roberts said. “Being young though, we have a ton of enthusiasm, and we’re very comfortable with what we’re doing.”

The team is focused, dedicated and ready to compete at their highest level, Eppinger said.

“We want the best performances out of all the athletes,” she said. “We want to keep the hurdling titles here at Alabama as that is something we’re known for, and we also want to strive to accomplish new feats and titles.”

As the season gets rolling, the Tide plans to continue running towards its goals.

“We want our athletes to grow as much as possible,” Roberts said. “We want to place as high as we can, and we want to win the SEC, the best conference in the nation.”

The next event will take the Tide to South Bend, Ind., where they will compete in the two-day Meyo Invitational on Feb. 4-5.