Women's Track Set for NCAA Championships
3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM
March 11, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - For the second time in as many weeks, the Alabama women's track and field team travels to Fayetteville, Ark., this time for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The national meet is being held at the Randal Tyson Track Center, March 12-13.
The Tide will be represented by one student-athlete in three separate events, the high jump, 60m hurdles and pentathlon. The championship meet is set to begin on Friday at 10:00 a.m. (CST) and competition will conclude Saturday after the last event, which is slated for an 8:40 p.m. start. Alabama athletes will compete on Friday at 2:45 p.m. (high jump) and 5:40 p.m. (60m hurdles), and then on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (pentathlon). Athletes, in the 60m hurdles, competing on Friday could compete again on Saturday should they advance to the finals in their respective events.
LIVE RESULTS
Live results will be provided by FlashResults.com and can also be found at the meet central site, ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
TELEVISION AND STREAMING VIDEO
ESPN360.com will stream the championships live beginning at 8 p.m. (CST) on Friday, March 12 and 6:10 p.m. on Saturday, March 13. To access the live stream, visit www.ESPN360.com. Anyone with a .edu e-mail address is able to obtain access to ESPN360 at no cost. NCAA.com will stream supplemental coverage as available when ESPN360.com is not live. Additionally, ESPN2 will air a 90-minute show at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
The Alabama women have tallied five provisional marks this season from four athletes, and all but one got the call up to the national meet. Senior Kim Laing, in the 60m hurdles, enters with the highest ranking of the squad with her time of 8.23, which ties her for the 10th-fastest time in the country. Laing is coming off a SEC championship in the event just two weeks ago in Fayetteville. Senior Chealsea Taylor is making her third-consecutive appearance at the indoor national meet, but first in the pentathlon in which she holds the No. 11 score with a total of 4,019 points. Freshman Krystle Schade will be competing in the high jump where she is tied for 13th in the nation with a leap of 5-11 1/2. Taylor and Schade are both coming off All-SEC performances at the SEC Championships where each finished second in their respective events. Laing and Schade will be making their first appearance at the indoor meet, though all three competed at the 2009 outdoor championships.
ALABAMA'S HISTORY AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Alabama's women have scored as a team 18 times at the indoor national meet - highest in 1994 when it placed second. Crimson Tide female athletes have accumulated four individual titles.
IN THE POLLS
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Week 7 Rankings were released this week. The Alabama women fell three spots from 43rd to 46th. There are 95 women's teams ranked this week.
The current USTFCCCA women's poll includes seven SEC teams in the top 25 led by the LSU Tigers who check in at No. 3 in the nation. The Florida Gators and Tennessee Lady Vols are just behind at No. 4 and 5, respectively. The Arkansas Razorbacks trail in eighth and are followed by the Auburn Tigers in 12th, the South Carolina Gamecocks in 18th and the Kentucky Wildcats in 25th.
2010 SEC CHAMPION
On Feb. 28, senior Kim Laing garnered her first career SEC championship in her final indoor season in an Alabama uniform. The native of Jamaica was in control of the 60m hurdle race from start to finish, crossing with a personal-best time of 8.23 to claim the title. Laing became the first Alabama athlete to win a SEC championship in the event since 2005 when Beau Walker also claimed the title in Fayetteville - Walker also won the 55m hurdle SEC title in 2006 in Gainesville, Fla.
2010 ALL-SEC HONOREES
The Crimson Tide women were led by senior Kim Laing, who earned All-SEC First Team honors with her SEC title in the 60m hurdles. Fellow senior Chealsea Taylor's second-place finish in the pentathlon gave her All-SEC Second Team honors, while freshman Krystle Schade earned the same accolade in the high jump. Schade (high jump) and freshman Wilamena Hopkins (shot put) garnered All-SEC Freshman Team honors as well for being the top freshmen finishers in their respective events.
SCHADE NAMED SEC WOMEN'S FRESHMAN FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
On March 4, freshman Krystle Schade was named the SEC Women's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year, as voted on by the league head coaches. The Sunrise, Fla., native is the first Alabama athlete to garner a SEC Athlete of the Year award of any kind. At the SEC Championships, Schade earned All-SEC honors by finishing second in the high jump with a NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 5-10 1/2. Schade has cleared NCAA provisional qualifying marks on four separate occasions this season. Schade boasts a season-best high jump clearance of 5-11 1/2. The mark, jumped at the season opening Kentucky Invitational, ranks her fifth in school history.
QUICK LOOK AT 2009 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The women of Alabama did not place as a team, while Tennessee claimed the team title with 42 points. Chealsea Taylor was the lone competitor for the Tide and in her second consecutive trip to the national indoor meet in the high jump, she finished 10th with a leap of 5-10 3/4.
Players Mentioned
