Men's Track Splits Squads for the Weekend
2/11/2010 12:00:00 AM
Feb. 11, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - After a historical outing last weekend, the Alabama men's track and field team returns to action this weekend, splitting squads between the Texas A&M Challenge and the Husky Classic.
The Texas A&M Challenge will be a one-day meet at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at the McFerrin Athletic Center on Saturday, Feb. 13. The field events as well as the running events are slated to begin Saturday at 12:00 p.m. with the long jump and the 60m hurdles. The last event will be the 4x400m relay and is currently scheduled for a 5:25 start.
The Husky Classic, hosted by the University of Washington, will be held at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Wash., on Friday, Feb. 12 and Saturday, Feb. 13. The meet will begin for the men on Friday at 6:15 p.m. (PST) with just the DMR and 5,000m run. Alabama will return for the 800m run on Saturday at 1:20 p.m.
The Crimson Tide will be competing with some of the nation's best in College Station, Texas, this weekend which will include the defending NCAA Outdoor Champions No. 1 Texas A&M, as well as No. 10 Texas Tech. In addition, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Houston, Rice and UTEP will be in attendance.
Last week, true freshman Kirani James clocked the current fastest 400m time in the world. James posted that time of 45.79 without the help of competition, as his closest competitor was nearly a full second behind at 46.43. James, however, will be competing against the second and third-fastest 400m sprinters in the world this weekend at Texas A&M and holds just a .02 second advantage over No. 2 Tabarie Henry of Texas A&M. Fellow Aggie Demetrius Pinder holds the No. 3 time of 46.01.
Alabama currently has eight student-athletes and one relay ranking in the top eight in the SEC in their respective events. James holds the top time in the 400m dash, while Aaron Stockstell (800m), Moses Kiptoo (5,000m) and the 4x400m relay team (James, Fabian Norgrove, Stockstell, Matthew Watson) check in with the second-fastest times. Tyler Campbell is third in the high jump, Ray Jadusingh is fourth in the 60m dash and while Joel Rop is seventh in the mile, while Mike Edwards (high jump) and Michael Hughes (heptathlon) rank eighth.
The Tide has tallied one NCAA automatic mark and four provisional marks this season. James, in the 400m dash, holds the automatic qualifier, while Jadusingh (60m), Stockstell (800m), Campbell (high jump) and the 4x400m relay team (James, F. Norgrove, Stockstell, Watson) all have notched provisional qualifying times or marks.
