Men's Track and Field Heads to NCAA National Championships
6/10/2008 12:00:00 AM
June 10, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama men's track and field team will head to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. The meet will begin on Wednesday, June 11 at Drake Stadium. The first event for the Crimson Tide will be the steeplechase on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.
Mideast Regional Recap:The Alabama men's team concluded its stay in Fayetteville, Ark. at the NCAA Mideast Regional with three athletes moving on to the NCAA Championships. Of the 10 members of the Crimson Tide that competed at the regional, sophomore Emmanuel Bor was the first to punch his ticket to Des Moines with a fifth-place finish. Tyson David finished eighth in the 1,500 but scratched from the event at the NCAA meet to concentrate on the 10,000 meters.
All-Mideast Regional Honors:The Alabama men's team earned three All-Mideast Region accolades. Sophomore Emmanuel Bor was the first member of the Crimson Tide to move on to Des Moines. Bor qualified and earned all-region recognition in the 5,000 meters after finishing fifth in a time of 14:14.53. Also from the highly-rated distance squad was SEC champion Tyson David in the 1,500 meters. David placed eighth in the event in a time of 3:50.62. In the steeplechase Abraham Kutingala also earned all-Region honors with a sixth-place finish, clocking an 8:59.83.
Scouting the Competition:Familiar faces will be at the NCAA National Championships as nine teams ranked in the top 25 reside in the SEC. LSU checks in at No. 1 while Florida is No. 4. SEC champion Arkansas is at No. 7 while Auburn and Tennessee follow at No. 9 and 10, respectively. South Carolina and Kentucky are at No. 16 and 17 while Mississippi State and Georgia round out the top 25 at No. 23 and 24.
Crimson Tide Ties in Des Moines:Alabama has made a name for itself at the oval in the prestigious Drake Stadium. Head Coach Harvey Glance still holds the 100-meter dash record he set in 1976 with a time of 10.01. The Crimson Tide 4x100-meter relay team set the Drake Stadium record in 1983 with a time of 38.96.
Crimson Tide in the Top 10 Nationally:Alabama will send a contingency of three athletes to compete in Des Moines, as all three are ranked in the top 10 in the nation in their respective events. Augustus Maiyo leads the way in the rankings at No. 3 in the steeplechase with a time of 8:35.36, trailing leader Luke Gunn of Florida State's time of 8:31.17.
Tyson David heads into his first NCAA outdoor championships with a fifth-place ranking in the 10,000 meters. The SEC record holder will toe the line with a time of 28:23.01 which trails the top entry time of 28:03.72 held by Sean Quigley of La Salle. Emmanuel Bor sports the sixth-best time in the 5,000 meters. Bor checks in with a time of 13:45.84. Brent Vaughn of Colorado has the top mark of 13:18.46.
Alabama at the National Championships:Alabama has had a total of 20 national champions and under the guidance of head coach Harvey Glance the Crimson Tide have had 72 All-Americans. The best team result in school history came in 1983 in Houston, Texas, when Alabama finished third on the strength of six All-America honorees and a national champion in Emmit King in the 100 meters (10.15). Alabama last finished in the top 10 in 2001 at Eugene, Oregon, with a sixth-place finish. Ron Bramlet was the national champion in the 110-meter hurdles that year with a time of 13.54.
Repeat Performers:Alabama has three athletes going to Des Moines and two of them have been to the meet before. Augustus Maiyo was an All-American in 2006 in the steeplechase while Emmanuel Bor competed last year in the 5,000 meters at the Drake Relays as a true freshman. Tyson David is in his first semester at the University of Alabama.
David Looks to Continue Stellar 2008:Junior Tyson David may have just finished his first semester at the University of Alabama but the Kenyan has already etched his name in the Crimson Tide record books. At the SEC Championships, David shattered the SEC 10,000-meter record with time of 28:23.01, breaking the old record held by Olympian Alistair Cragg by nearly 20 seconds. David also ran the fourth-fastest 5,000 meters in school history with a runner-up finish at the SEC meet in 13:44.81. Earlier this season, the junior ran the eighth-fastest 1,500 in school history (3:44.26).
