Alabama Set to Host SEC Championships
5/9/2007 12:00:00 AM
By Scott Latta
UA Media Relations
For the
“I think it’s always exciting for both the coaching staff and the athletes,” she said. “For the athletes it’s one of the few times they and their families can come in and enjoy the competition and see their kids run at their home track. I always talk to the team about respecting their facilities and their home and this is a great chance to do that in front of their friends and their peers.
“In a conference like this you could have a world leader in the lane next to you and it’s the way this conference is, so you have to worry about yourself more than anything else.”
In the weeks leading up to the championships, Fowler said, the women’s team has improved with each meet. At Vanderbilt two weeks ago, the Tide picked up six NCAA regional marks and set 10 personal records. At the Drake Relays a week later in
In all,
With such a young roster and many athletes who will be competing in their first SEC Championships, Fowler knows that leadership has had to come from more of the experienced girls on the team, including All-American Beau Walker.
“Probably the biggest thing we’re seeing is the competitiveness of the young athletes, which is probably being fostered by our older athletes with girls like Beau Walker, who has been crucial in helping the younger girls come through,” Fowler said. “Certainly they’re nervous and scared which makes them anxious, but controlling that has been the key and they’ve learned how to do that.”
With world-class athletes arriving from around the conference, the talent level coming to the Capstone has not gone unnoticed by
For the women,
“I certainly expect to see some records broken [this year],” Glance said. “Top to bottom in almost every area we have unbelievable talent. This is the toughest conference in the nation and any coach in
“I’ve had guys finish 10th in an event at the SECs and when the day ends they’re one of the top 20 athletes in the country and I expect it to be no different this week.”
At the regional, the top five finishers in each event automatically gain entry into the national championships, which will also usually have five to eight at-large bids to fill each event.
While a strong performance at the SEC Championships would go a long way for the confidence of his team, Glance said, if
“I think we’ve gotten better in some events and worse in some, but I’ve also seen that we’ve got some pretty consistent athletes that will be on the battlefield when it’s time to step it up, and that’s what I want, to go out fighting, especially at home,” he said. “We’ve had some qualifying marks on the board already and hope we get some out of this meet. I think right now we’re primed and ready to go.”
