The No. 17 Alabama men’s track and field squad finished fourth at the SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., Feb. 25-27, the best finish for the Crimson Tide since 2002.
Florida came away with the top spot, followed by Arkansas and LSU.
During the weekend, the Tide put together an overall impressive performance, with three individual champions, world records and personal bests to achieve its best finish in nine years.
“They stepped up, especially Sunday, and delivered like I knew they could,” head coach Harvey Glance said. “I’m very proud of them. They did a wonderful job.”
The Tide took home the top spot in the 400 and 800 meters as well as the distance medley relay.
In the 400 meters, sophomore Kirani James blazed through the track to post a time of 44.80. Already qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, his time set a new junior world record.
Senior Fred Samoei, who is also qualified for the NCAA Championships, won the 800 meters with an impressive time of 1:49.68.
In addition to finishing first, the distance medley relay squad posted the fastest time recorded at an SEC indoor meet. The squad, made up of Samoei, seniors Joel Rop and Julius Bor and junior Terrell Mickens ran to a time of 9:39.06, which is also the sixth fastest time in school history.
Competing in one of the toughest conferences in America is no easy task. Heading into the championships, Glance said he hoped his team finished in the middle of the pack and had a respectable performance.
“I knew going in it was going to be tough, but they performed to their expectations and finish fourth,” Glance said.
Along with its first-place finishes, the Tide posted numerous other impressive performances.
The mile run saw seniors Emmanuel and Julius Bor finish third and fourth with times of 4:07.80 and 4:08.09.
In both the 3,000-meter and the high jump, Alabama had two competitors in the top 10.
Emmanuel Bor finish third in the 3,000-meter with a time of 8:02.07 and junior Carison Kemei ran to a seventh-place finish with a time of 8:13.81. Kemei also posted a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 meter with a time of 14:08.04.
In the high jump, junior Tyler Campbell posted a personal best with a jump of 7’ 1/2”, which earned him third, and freshman Jonathan Reid finished tied for seventh with a jump of 6’ 9”.
Rounding out the weekend for the Tide, senior Michael Hughes finished fifth in heptathlon.
As Alabama heads forward in the season working toward the NCAA Indoor Championships, its focus is becoming a top-tier program on the national level.
Glance said his team will aim to solidify its distance medley relay squad’s place in the NCAA Indoor Championships. If they do, Glance said, “We’re a top-10 program.”
