Track and field’s Tamara Clark records NCAA top-five time

Courtesy of Alabama Athletics

Carey Reeder | @realCareyReeder, Staff Reporter

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.