Tide Men's Tracksters to Compete in SEC Championships
6/10/2002 12:00:00 AM
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As the 2002 track and field season begins to wind down the competition is just starting to heat up for the No. 10 ranked University of Alabama men’s track and field team.
The Crimson Tide heads to Starkville, Mississippi for the 2002 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, a mini-preview of the 2002 National Championships. Eight of the top 13 teams in the country hail from the Southeastern Conference, so winning the meet is a tremendous honor and accomplishment.
The Tide will showcase two of the best athletes in their respective events in Ron Bramlett and David Kimani.
Bramlett might well be the top hurdler in the country and one of the best in the world. He has placed first in every 110m hurdle event he has participated in this season, a continuation of his performance in the 60m hurdle event in the indoor season where he failed to lose a race to a collegian. Bramlett’s top time this season is currently the 10th fastest time in the world at 13.36.
David Kimani is the Tide’s other go-to-guy as he is among the tops in the country in the distance events. With the exception of the mile race at the Drake Relays that took place in horrible weather conditions, Kimani has place first in every race he has lined up for this season which includes the 800m, 1,500m 4x800m relay and the DMR. Perhaps his best event is the 1,500m run where he has posted a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 3:39.35 and a provisional qualifying time as well.
The Tide will also look to Latonel Williams and Jevon Mason to score big points as well. Williams has posted provisional qualifying times in the 100m dash (10.23 and 10.32), the 200m dash (20.83) and the 400m relay (39.63 and 39.98). Mason also provisionally qualified for the 2002 NCAA Championships as a part of the 400m relay team.
The Crimson Tide will be looking to improve on last season’s fourth place finish at the SEC Championships, which would mean a finish of third or higher marking Alabama’s highest finish in the meet since a third place finish in 1989.
The men’s events are scheduled to kick off at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday with the decathlon. Friday will begin the track and field portion of the championships. The meet will conclude on Sunday at 9:35 p.m. with the men’s 1,600m relay.
