Men's Track Qualifies Two for NCAA Championships
5/27/2011 12:00:00 AM
May 27, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The University of Alabama men's track and field team had two student-athletes earn a spot in the national championships with performances at the NCAA East Regional on Friday evening.
Sophomore All-American and defending NCAA 400m champion Kirani James posted the fastest time in the 400m at 45.86 to earn a spot in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8-11.
Fred Samoei also qualified in the 800m by finishing fourth overall with a time of 1:48.72. The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the NCAA Championships.
"Kirani (James) added another notch on his belt as the regional champion," UA head coach Harvey Glance said. "And Fred (Samoei) punched his ticket as well to NCAAs. These guys have competed hard all season and today was no different. They're a great group of student-athletes that are very deserving of this opportunity and I'm proud of the way they've competed."
The Crimson Tide also had two athletes narrowly miss advancing in the 400m hurdles and triple jump.
Dwayne Extol finished 16th in the hurdles with a season-best time of 52.05 to miss advancing.
"Extol did an outstanding job by finishing 16th after coming in ranked 35th," Glance said. "He made a personal best and did a great job of competing."
Jonathan Reid also finished 13th in the triple jump with a leap of 50-9.5 to miss advancing by one spot.
The Tide will have one final event to try and qualify competitors in tomorrow when the team's 4x400m relay squad takes the track at 8:45 p.m. CDT.
NCAA East Regional
Alabama Results
400m
1. Kirani James, 45.86
800m
4. Fred Samoei, 1:48.72
110m Hurdles
45. Kamal Fuller, 14.84
400m Hurdles
16. Dwayne Extol, 52.05
Triple Jump
13. Jonathan Reid, 50-9.5
