In a split-squad effort, the men’s track and field squad recorded impressive performances at both the UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas and the Mt. SAC Relays on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif., April 15-16.
The Crimson Tide split into two groups for the events. Sprinters and jumpers attended the UTEP Invitational and distance runners competed in the Mt. SAC Relays.
“What we wanted to accomplish was to put some marks on the board, to let people know we had a pretty good program, and we did that,” head track coach Harvey Glance said.
The highlights of the meets were sophomore Kirani James’ performance in El Paso, Texas and senior Fred Samoei’s performance in California.
James placed first in the 200-meter, with a time of 20.41. His time was recorded as the third fastest 200-meter time in the NCAA this season and was faster than Churandry Martina, who finished second in the 2008 Olympics.
At the Mt. SAC Relays, Samoei stole the show with one of the fastest 800 meter times in the world this season. Placing second with a time of 1:45:52, he recorded the second fastest time in Alabama history and the fifth fastest time in the world this season.
Back in Texas, the 400-meter witnessed two Tide performers finish in the top 10. In fourth place, freshman Dwayne Extol posted a time of 47.56 and coming in seventh, junior Bobby Onyeukwo finished with a time of 48.18.
“Our two best athletes did what they were supposed to do,” Glance said. “The rest of the team did a great job moving up the NCAA Regionals marks…. I’m real proud of all these guys.”
Freshman Kamal Fuller added to his impressive first year at Alabama with a first-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles.
The 4×100-meter relay squad, consisting of freshman Shaun Gaiser, James, Extol and Fuller, came in second with a time of 40.81, and the 4×400-meter relays squad made up of Extol, James, Onyeukwo and sophomore Joel Lynch earned the top spot at 3:09:18.
In the field events, the Tide recorded three top-five finishes.
Freshman Jonathan Reid finished fourth in the high jump at 6-9.75 and senior Michael Hughes came in first in the pole vault at 16-3.25.
The long jump saw Fuller jump to a third-place finish with a score of 24-6.50.
Rounding out the Mt. SAC Relays, senior Julius Bor placed ninth in the 1,500-meter Olympic Development Elite Selection with a time of 3:43:90.
Coming off the heels of an impressive showing in Texas, the Tide will have an off-week before heading to the prestigious Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa from April 28-30.
“We feel we’re in pretty good shape in where we need to be with relays and individual events,” Glance said. “Drake is going to just be gravy for what we do.”
As well as performing in the Drake Relays, Glance will be honored while in Iowa, where he will be inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame.
“That is really going to be a highlight for me and the team.”
As the Tide set their sights on the Drake Relays, the team is confident in what they do, especially after battling through a tough SEC schedule.
Excluding Vanderbilt University, who doesn’t have a men’s program, nine of 11 SEC teams are ranked in the top 25 in the country.
“We know that we’re one of the top five or six teams in our conference and that’s saying a lot, especially with the depth of this conference,” Glance said. “Our conference is always like a mini NCAA Championship. But we do what we do and I think we’ll be very competitive.”
After the Drake Relays, the Tide will begin its preparation for the SEC Outdoor Championships in Athens, Ga., May 12-15.
