Women's Track & Field Travels to Mississippi Open
4/22/2011 12:00:00 AM
April 22, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women's track and field team continues the outdoor season this weekend as it heads to Oxford, Miss., to compete in the Mississippi Open. The meet will feature schools from across the Southeast, including a handful of Southeastern Conference rivals.
"The goal again is to step it forward," UA head coach Sandy Fowler said. "We're getting close to the Drake Relays next week against some high-caliber schools so we need to walk out of this meet feeling confident and go after some season and personal bests."
The Crimson Tide is coming off a solid outing at last weekend's Auburn War Eagle Invitational, recording 17 top-10 finishes including three in the 1,500m where junior Leigh Gilmore finished third in the 1,500m run with a time of 4:37.50 while teammates Katlyn Will and Elsbeth Denton ran times of 4:42.48 and 4:44.42 for seventh and eighth, respectively.
In the javelin throw, Meghan Austin finished second with a mark of 144-11 while Brittany Hines threw a season-best 135-11 for fifth and Bekah Hoppis finished seventh, throwing 132-10, also a season-best mark. The javelin has been one of the most successful events for the Tide this season with UA throwers recording four of the top-10 throws in the SEC this season. Austin leads the league with a mark of 160-4 achieved at the Alabama Relays.
The squad has also had strong showings in the hurdles. Last weekend, Kim Laing and Kaylon Eppinger advanced to the finals of the 100m hurdles, where they ran times of 13.52 and 13.68 for fourth and sixth. Senior Talaya Owens, competing in the 400m hurdles, ran a time of 59.71 to finish fourth. UA hurdlers own two of the top-10 times in the SEC in the 100m hurdles with Laing ranking fourth and Eppinger eighth. Owens owns the seventh fastest 400m hurdle time in the league this season.
Competition begins Saturday with the women's javelin at 9 a.m. and continuing well into Saturday evening. On Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m. the three final events of the women's heptathlon (long jump, javelin, 800m run) will take place.
Players Mentioned
