Men's Track Duo Earns All-American Honors
6/14/2010 12:00:00 AM
June 14, 2010
NEW ORLEANS - University of Alabama freshman Kirani James and junior Fred Samoei have been named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-America team as announced on Monday for their efforts at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., last week.
A total of 523 awards will be presented to 428 individuals as a result of a national top-eight finish in this past weekend's national championships. In addition, the top eight finishing athletes among U.S. citizens from the NCAA Championships gain All-America status.
James earned the honor by claiming the NCAA 400 meter title with a time of 45.05, becoming the first Alabama male student-athlete to win the event, indoors or outdoors. The Gouyave, Grenada, native is the first outdoor NCAA champion for Alabama since 2002 - Ron Bramlett in the 100 meter hurdles and David Kimani in the 5,000 meters.
James, just 17-years-old, etched his name in NCAA and Alabama history with the 400 meter championship. He is just the second Alabama male to earn All-America honors in the 400 meters, outdoors - Cedric Vaughns earned the honor in 1982 and 1984.
Samoei earned All-American accolades by finishing eighth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:47.84. The Moiben, Kenya, native became the first Alabama male student-athlete to earn All-America honors in the 800 meters, outdoors, since Peter Etoot garnered the award in 2005 - Etoot also finished eighth. Samoei is the fourth to earn the honor outdoors in school history.
This is the first year since 2005 that the Alabama men have had two All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
USTFCCCA National Award winners will be announced starting Wednesday, June 16. The winners of the John McDonnell Program of the Year and Terry Crawford Program of the Year will be announced Tuesday.
