Men's Track Set for NCAA Championships
6/9/2009 12:00:00 AM
June 9, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -
Alabama Heads to NCAA Championships: The Alabama men's track and field team will head to the NCAA Championships being held in Fayetteville, Ark. The meet will begin on Wednesday, June 10 at John McDonnell Field. The first event for the Crimson Tide will be the 4x100 meter relay semifinal on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m.
Television and Live Results: CBS will be airing the NCAA Championships and are scheduled to go live from the track Friday, June 12, 6-9 p.m. CST on CBS College Sports as well as Saturday, June 13, 12-2 p.m. CST on CBS. There will be live streaming through NCAA.com and ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Live streaming will take place whenever CBS College Sports and CBS are not airing events live. Live results will be run by FlashResults and they will run live results through their site, flashresults.com, NCAA.com and it will be linked to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Mideast Regional Recap: The Alabama men's team concluded its stay in Louisville, Ky. at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships with a 15th place finish along with three individuals moving on to the NCAA Championship along with a relay team and Abraham Kutingala who had qualified provisionally in the 10,000 meter earlier in the season. Tyson David had also qualified automatically in the 10,000 meter with the third fastest time in the country, but will compete in the 5,000 meter, a race he won at the regional meet. Though wind-aided, Ray Jadusingh posted a season best time in the 100 meter dash and earned an at-large bid to nationals with his time of 10.33. Emmanuel Bor also earned an at-large bid in the 5,000 meter for nationals as he finished ninth at regionals. The 4x100 meter relay squad comprised of Brandon Spradley, David Chaplin, Jadusingh and Matt Watson will be competing as yet another at-large qualifier after finishing fifth in the toughest region in the country in regards to the 4x100.
All-Mideast Regional Honors: The Alabama men's team earned six All-Mideast Region accolades. Tyson David was the lone Mideast Region Champion for the Crimson Tide as he won the 5,000 meter title with a time of 14:07.22. Ray Jadusingh came away with double honors as he finished sixth in the 100 meter finals with a time of 10.33 before leading the 4x100 meter relay team to a fifth place finish and a time of 39.77. Other members of the relay squad were Brandon Spradley, David Chaplin and Matt Watson.
SEC in the USTFCCCA Polls: Familiar faces will be at the NCAA National Championships as eight teams that are ranked in the top 25 reside in the SEC. Florida checks in at No. 3 while SEC Champion Arkansas is No. 4. LSU is at No. 6 while South Carolina and Kentucky follow at No. 6 and 11, respectively. Mississippi State and Auburn are at No. 13 and 15 while Georgia rounds out the top 25 at No. 20. The Crimson Tide comes into the meet ranked as the No. 60 team in the country. There are 137 teams ranked in this year's USTFCCCA poll.
Crimson Tide in the Top 25 in the Nation: Alabama will send a contingency of four athletes and one relay team to compete in Fayetteville, Ark. with all four and the relay being ranked in the top 25 in the nation in their respective events. Emmanuel Bor leads the way in the rankings at No. 10 in the 5,000 meter run checking in with a time of 13:43.15. The 4x100 meter relay team brings the 15th best time of 39.73 into the national meet. Tyson David will be joining teammate Bor in the 5,000 meter run with his time of 13:55.46, the 18th fastest time in the nation. Abraham Kutingala will be competing in his last NCAA Championship meet in the 10,000 meter as a provisional qualifier. Kutingala's time of 28:52.45 this season places him with the 18th fastest time in the nation. Ray Jadusingh, also competing in the 4x100 relay, qualified as an at-large participant with his time of 10.33, good enough for 23rd in the country.
Alabama at the National Championships: Alabama has had a total of 20 national champions in its history at the NCAA Championships. The best team result in school history came in 1983 in Houston, Texas when Alabama finished third in the strength of six All-American honors and a national champion in Emmit King in the 100 meters (10.15). Alabama last finished in the top 10 in 2001 at Eugene, Ore. with a sixth place finish. Ron Bramlett was the national champion in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 13.54.
Repeat Performers: Alabama has three athletes going to Fayetteville that have been to the meet in years past. Tyson David was an All-American in 2008 in the 10,000 meter run finishing third overall, while Emmanuel Bor will be competing in the 5,000 meter race for the third straight year after finishing 11th in the race in 2008. Abraham Kutingala will be making his first trip back to the meet since qualifying in 2007 for the 10,000 meter run as a sophomore.
