The Alabama women’s track and field team was back in action this weekend competing in the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame’s Loftus Center.
The first day of competition gave coaches a good result and helped the coaching staff lock in on what needs to be improved.
“We had some good things,” assistant coach Scott Roberts said. “We also had some things we still need to work on, and we’ve got a couple weeks to get those things ironed out.”
One of the highlights on the first day of competition was Alabama junior Krystle Schade’s performance in the high jump. Schade cleared 5-11.5 to match her indoor personal best and take the high jump event by an inch. On her second attempt, she cleared 5-11.5 again to finish the competition just two inches shy of the school record.
Juniors Kaylon Eppinger and Audra Frimpong did well in the 60-meter hurdles and finished third and eighth respectively in the preliminaries.
In the weight throw, junior Amethyst Holmes exceeded her personal best by posting a 63-7, which is three feet more than her previous best. She finished third in the event.
The Tide had a good first day of competition and took that momentum into the second day at the Meyo Invitational.
Eppinger and Frimpong placed fourth and eighth in the 60m hurdles prelims on the second day, and finished fifth and ninth in the 60m hurdles finals to conclude the event. Sophomore Andrea Torske finished third in the 3,000m with a time of 10:00.78, which is her best thus far.
In the shot put, Alabama sophomore Wilamena Hopkins finished second with a throw of 50-8.25.
The Meyo Invitational continued to give the young Alabama squad experience and confidence, posting eight top-10 finishes and seven personal best.
“We showed improvement with mental toughness,” junior Camilla Armstead said. “Coach has really been helping us with our technique and getting us to really push on near the end of the race… I’m really excited with how we are progressing.”
As the season moves forward and the team is gaining experience, the coaching staff wants to really focus in on building team chemistry.
“Team chemistry is always an issue,” Roberts said. “We want to make sure these young kids understand what it means to wear the Alabama uniform, and so we’re always looking to help those athletes to mature in that way. From now until the conference meet, we’re going to be spending a lot of time sharpening up and getting into a position where we can put forth our best effort.”
Next weekend the women’s track team will be heading to College Station, Texas, where the team will compete in the Texas A&M Conference Challenge on Saturday.
