Track and field’s Tamara Clark records NCAA top-five time
January 10, 2020
The Alabama track and field team kicked off its 2020 indoor season with seven event wins at the UAB Blazer Invitational on Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Thirty-one women and 18 men competed for Alabama on Friday, including 11 freshmen who made their indoor debut for the Crimson Tide.
Junior Tamara Clark headlined the meet with a win in the women’s 300-meter dash. Her time of 36.56 marked the fifth-fastest 300-meter dash in NCAA indoor history. Nebraska’s Merlene Ottay holds the No. 1 spot with a time of 35.69 achieved in 1982.
Sophomore Chago Basso kicked off Friday’s events for the Crimson Tide with a win in the men’s shot put with a toss of 61-08.25 (18.80 meters). Junior Isaac Odugbesan finished second with a mark of 60-09.25 (18.52 meters).
In the other men’s throwing events, sophomore Bobby Colantonio Jr. won the weight throw with a toss of 71-07.50 (21.83 meters).
The Alabama men’s runners picked up three more wins on Friday behind senior Robert Dunning in the 60-meter hurdles with a 7.74 and junior Paul Selden in the 5,000-meter with a mark of 15:35.96. Junior Leander Forbes claimed first place in the 500-meter dash with a 1:02.38 to round out the Crimson Tide’s individual victories in Birmingham.
Freshman Cherisse Murray made her debut in the women’s shot put, finishing third with a mark a launch of 51-09.00 (15.77 meters), while junior Nickolette Dunbar finished fourth with a 50-08.00 (15.44 meters).
The Alabama women claimed two spots in the top four finishers of the women’s 300-meter dash with senior D’Jai Baker finishing second with a 37.86 and junior Daija Lampkin placed fourth with a 38.11.
Sophomore Sydney Milani finished second in the women’s 500-meter dash with a 1:15.64.
Alabama finished its field events with senior Abigail Kwarteng finishing second in the women’s high jump with a clearance of 5-08.50 (1.74 meters) and junior Taylor Pickett placed runner-up in the women’s pole vault with a 12-05.50 (3.80 meters). Junior Ryan Lipe cleared a 15-05.00 (4.70 meters) in the men’s pole vault to earn third place.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team wrapped up the UAB Blazer Invitational with a win, posting a time of 3:12.96.
Alabama’s track and field indoor season is now underway and will be back in action on Jan. 17 in Birmingham at the Samford Invitational.