Alabama Hosts 16 Teams In 2015 Crimson Tide Invitational

March 27, 2015

This Week: 2015 Crimson Tide Invitational
DATE(s): Friday-Saturday, March 27-28, 2015
LOCATION: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
VENUE: Sam Bailey Track & Field Complex
TWITTER: @AlabamaTrack
LIVE RESULTS: http://results.flotrack.org/2015/03-27-Alabama/Mobile/
TV/VIDEO STREAMING: http://es.pn/1D2ABvM; Saturday, 3 p.m. CT

The University of Alabama track & field team hosts its second home meet of the season Friday and Saturday as it welcomes seven schools to the Sam Bailey Track and Field Complex for the Crimson Tide Invitational. Action kicks off Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. CT with the men's hammer throw. The Crimson Tide Invitational is the second home meet in two weeks. On March 19-21, the team played host to 67 teams at the 2015 John Mitchell Alabama Relays. The Alabama track facility was renovated in 2013. Work included the installation of a new surface featuring wider turns that promise faster times in long sprints. The $4.7 million renovation also featured a new building to house timekeepers, renovations to the press box and drastic improvements for the fan experience. A total of 53 Alabama athletes (31 women, 22 men) are slated to compete this weekend. They are slated to compete in a total of 27 events. Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

16 Teams Competing at the 2015 Crimson Tide Invitational

At this writing, teams representing 8 schools (8 men's teams, 8 women's teams), including three SEC universities, had submitted approved entries for the 2015 Crimson Tide Invitational: Alabama (men & women), Auburn (M & W), Clemson (M&W), Clemson (M&W), Memphis (M&W), Mississippi State (M&W), Northwestern (M&W), South Carolina (M&W), Western Kentucky (M&W).

Head Coach Dan Waters on the Crimson Tide

"The Crimson Tide Invitational is a great meet for our athletes. They're able to compete at home for a second time this season, which gives them the advantage of competing in a familiar setting. The meet is also relatively small. We only have eight teams competing in the meet, so the number of athletes in each event is very conducive for fast times on the track and great marks in the field events. We had a really great home opener last weekend at the Alabama Relays, and we're looking at taking the momentum that we built into this meet."

Who to Watch This Week

Cameron Hudson (Jr.)
Men's Long Jump: Saturday, 3:00 p.m.

Hudson will compete in the long jump and the 4x100-meter Relay for the first time this outdoor season. It will be the junior's first time competing outdoors for the Tide
The junior transferred from Eastern Carolina University after competing for the university for two years.
Hudson won the 2014 Conference USA long jump championship with a best mark of 25-8 (7.82m).
He finished 16th in the long jump at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a leap of 23-10 (7.26m).
This year, the junior was the sixth-place finisher in the long jump at the 2015 SEC Indoor Championships.
Hudson earned first-team All-America honors for the first time in his career with a seventh-place finish in the long jump at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Burchell's 60 Crown Highlighted NCAA Indoor Meet for Alabama

Senior All-American Remona Burchell blazed to her second NCAA 60-meter championship last Saturday night in Fayetteville, Ark., after posting a time of 7.12. With the win, she becomes Alabama's first repeat NCAA individual champion.
Burchell, who set the collegiate record at 7.08 during last month's Southeastern Conference Championships, bettered the rest of the field Saturday night by 9/100ths of a second. USC's Ky Westbrook clocked a 7.21 for second place while Jasmine Todd of Oregon was third with a 7.22. Burchell's 7.12 in finals marks the sixth-fastest 60 time in collegiate history and third-fastest school history.
Sophomore Lakan Taylor also earned All-America honors on the championships' final day, taking sixth in the pole vault after clearing a height of 14 feet, 1 1/4 inches.
Junior Cameron Hudson ended up seventh overall, earning All-America honors and two points for the Tide in the team standings. Hudson's best mark of the night was a 24-foot, 11 3/4-inch (7.61 meters) effort on his third attempt.
Both Alex Amankwah and Jeremiah Green competed in event finals on the final day of the championships. Amankwah took sixth in the finals of the 800-meters with a time of 1:48.03, earning All-America honors. Green was ninth in the triple jump after leaping 52 feet, 2 inches on his second attempt.
The Crimson Tide women finished 17th in the team standings with 13 points, while the Tide men took 38th with five points. Arkansas won the women's meet with 63 points while the Oregon men took first 74 points.

4 Tide Athletes Earn Indoor 1st-Team All-America Honors

Twelve Alabama athletes who competed at last weekend's NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., earned All-America honors based on their performances, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced.
The four athletes combined for a total of 16 All-America citations overall, including four first-team honors by four athletes led by women's sprinter Remona Burchell earning first-team honors for her victory in the 60 meters.
Other first-team honorees included women's pole vaulter Lakan Taylor, Alex Amankwah (men's 800 meters) and Cameron Hudson (men's long jump).
Seven athletes earned second-team All-America honors: Justin Fondren (men's high jump), Jeremiah Green (men's triple jump), Jacopo Lahbi (men's 800 meters), Alex Amankwah (men's 4x400 relay), Steven Gayle (men's 4x400 relay), Cameron Hudson (men's 4x400 relay) and Quincy Smith (men's 4x400 relay).
Four athletes on Alabama's distance medley relay received honorable mention: Matt Airola, Robbie Farnham-Rose, Steven Gayle and Andrew Harris.
Amankwah and Hudson earned both first-team and second-team honors in different events.
Sprinter Steven Gayle earned second-team honors and honorable mention in two different relays.
First-Team honors were given to those who placed in the championships' top eight in an event or were a member of an eight-person final.
Second-Team honors were earned by those who finished between ninth and 16th place.
Any qualifiers who did not finish or were disqualified from their event were designated Honorable Mention.
In addition, 14 men and four women earned honorable mention honors.
Overall, the Southeastern Conference led the way in total first-team honorees both in the men's (45) and women's (61) competitions, with the Big 12 both second in the men's division with 33 and the ACC second in the women's division with 31.

Alabama's USTFCCCA All-America Honorees from the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships

First Team

Men - Alex Amankwah (800 meters) and Cameron Hudson (long jump)
Women - Remona Burchell (60 meters) and Lakan Taylor (pole vault)

Second Team

Men - Alex Amankwah (4x400 relay), Justin Fondren (high jump), Steven Gayle (4x400 relay), Jeremiah Green (long jump), Cameron Hudson (60 meters and 4x400 relay), Jacopo Lahbi (800 meters) and Quincy Smith (4x400 relay)

Honorable Mention

Men - Matt Airola (distance medley relay), Robbie Farnham-Rose (distance medley relay), Steven Gayle (distance medley relay) and Andrew Harris (distance medley relay)

Alabama in the Preseason Indoor Team Rankings

The Alabama men's track & field team ranked No. 11 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I National Team Computer Rankings for the preseason released March 24.
The Tide women were ranked 29th in the preseason polls.

Burchell, Reed Represent Alabama on Watch Lists for The Bowerman

Alabama's two returning NCAA individual champions from 2014, senior sprinter Remona Burchell and sophomore thrower Hayden Reed, were both among an elite group of collegiate athletes listed among the preseason favorites for consideration for the 2015 Bowerman Trophy, collegiate track and field's highest honor.
Burchell, the reigning indoor 60-meter and outdoor 100-meter NCAA champion is among 10 members of the award's Watch List.
Reed, the 2014 NCAA and USATF men's discus champion, received votes but ranked just outside the top 10 on the Preseason Watch List for The Bowerman. Reed competes in the shot put during the indoor season.

Burchell Looking to Repeat as 100 Champion

Alabama senior sprinter Remona Burchell has emphatically asserted herself as collegiate track's top female sprinter, having won the last three NCAA sprint titles: the 2014 indoor 60-meter dash, the 2014 outdoor 100 meters, and the 2015 indoor 60.
Burchell will sit out this week's John Mitchell Alabama Relays as she takes a week off after winning the NCAA indoor 60 crown last weekend.
Burchell and Arkansas distance runner Dominique Scott were co-recipients of the 2015 SEC Runner of the Year honor for Indoor Track & Field by virtue of a vote of the conference's head coaches.
Burchell has been named the NCAA South Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA, and has been selected to the Pre-Indoor NCAA Championships edition of the women's Watch List for the 2015 Bowerman Trophy, collegiate track & field's highest individual honor.
Burchell set a collegiate record in the 60-meter dash (7.08 seconds) on Feb. 28 at the SEC Indoor Championships.
The 2014 NCAA indoor 60-meter champion and the 2014 NCAA outdoor 100-meter champion, Burchell ran the second-fastest 60 run in the world to date on Feb. 28 and, dating back to her 7.11 last year at altitude to win the NCAA title in Albuquerque, N.M., she now has two of the five fastest times in collegiate history.
Burchell has posted the five fastest 60-meter dash times in Alabama history and owns 11 of the 13 fastest times on the Crimson Tide's all-time list.
She started her 2015 season with a 7.28 in the 60 prelims on Jan. 24 at Vanderbilt, then followed up with a 7.25 in the final to win the event.
On Jan. 31 at Albuquerque, Burchell ran a pedestrian 7.34 in the preliminary heat before blazing to victory in the final in 7.20.
On Feb. 13 at Fayetteville, Burchell ran 7.25 in the prelims, 7.17 in the semis, then blazed a 7.14 to win the final.
The Jamaican has virtually re-written the all-time Crimson Tide top 10 in the 60.
Many do not know that Burchell ran in pain for much of the 2014 season with an injury that prevented her from running curves, but she is healthy this season.

Reed Looking to Defend Discus Title

The sophomore stunned the track world last June with convincing victories in the discus at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., and two weeks later at the USA Track & Field Championships, where he defeated an open field of competitors consisting of the best throwers in the nation regardless of age.
After his breakout 2014 season, Reed finished the 2014 season ranked as America's No. 1 discus athlete.
Reed became the first man since Kamy Keshmiri in 1990 to win the NCAA and USA titles in the discus in the same year.
Reed, who won the NCAA crown with his final throw at the Outdoor Championships in early June, had a throw of 62.19 meters (204 feet) on his second attempt at the USATF Championships in late June, and that effort held up throughout the rest of the competition.
His best throw of the 2014 season was a 209-1 effort on May 17 at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Lexington, Ky., a performance that earned a second-place finish for Reed.
His winning effort at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., went 205 feet, 10 inches.
In his first outdoor appearance of the 2015 season, Reed won the discus at the John Mitchell Alabama Relays on March 21. His best throw of the day was 196-6, a mark that was almost five feet farther than the next competitor in the field.

Hudson a Force in Sprints & Jumps for Tide Men

Tide newcomer Cam Hudson emerged as one of Alabama's top sprinters and jumpers in the 2015 indoor season.
A transfer from East Carolina who was the 2014 Conference USA outdoor men's long jump champion (25-8; 7.82m), Hudson finished the indoor season ranked among the 2015 collegiate top 20 in the long jump (7th; 7.84m) and the 60-meter dash (15th, 6.63).
Hudson also is a key part of Alabama's 4x400-meter relay, running the second leg on the unit that broke the indoor school record with a 3:06.05 clocking on Feb. 14 at Fayetteville, Ark.
The junior enters the outdoor season at the Crimson Tide Invitational after recording a seventh-place finish at the indoor national championships to earn 1st-team All-America honors for the first time in his collegiate career. He also ran the 60-meter dash at the championships, finishing with the 12th fastest time in the preliminaries of the event.

Amankwah Runs the 1,500 Meters

Alabama senior Alex Amankwah's best indoor 800-meter time of 1:46.86 on Jan. 24 at the Vanderbilt Invitational earned Amankwah the Southeastern Conference's Men's Runner of the Week honor on Jan. 27.
A native of Ghana who immigrated to the United States and attended high school in Los Angeles, Calif., Amankwah bettered Ghana's men's national record with the performance that broke an 11-year-old Crimson Tide record set in 2004 by Peter Etoot, crossing the line .04 faster than Etoot's previous standard (1:46.90).
Amankwah will race in the 1,500 meters at the Crimson Tide Invitational, a longer race than his main event - the 800 meters.
Most recently, the Tide senior finished sixth in the 800-meters at the indoor NCAA championships with a time of 1:48.03.

Ficenec Sprints to Personal Best in the 1,500 Meters

Junior Kimberley Ficenec produced an impressive 1,500-meter personal best at the Alabama Relays on March 20. The Alabama junior ran 4:24.92 to win the women's 1,500 meters and claim the ninth-fastest time in Tide history.
Ficenec ran a personal best in the women's indoor 800 meters of 2:05.25 on Feb. 13 at Arkansas, the third-fastest time in Alabama history.
Ficenec has produced three of the 10 fastest indoor 800-meter times in Alabama history.

Back in the Relays Business - in a Big Way

On Feb. 21, the Crimson Tide's men's distance medley relay of Robbie Farnham-Rose, Steven Gayle, Jacopo Lahbi and Matt Airola set a new school record in the DMR with a clocking of 9 minutes, 29.93 seconds at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind., on the University of Notre Dame campus, breaking a school best that had stood for 15 years.
One week earlier, on Feb. 14 at Fayetteville, Ark., Alabama's men's 4x400-meter relay unit of Steven Gayle, Cameron Hudson, Marlon Humphrey and Alex Amankwah broke a nine-year-old school record by more than a full second, running 3:06.05, a time that is currently fourth on the World List.
Amankwah's 45.5-second anchor leg on the relay pushed the Tide to the record after Gayle ran the first leg in 46.9 with Hudson going 46.3 on the second leg and Humphrey clocking a 46.9 on the third leg.
The 4x400 relay entered the NCAA indoor meet with the nation's No. 5 time overall while the DMR ranked 7th in the nation.

Green among National Leaders in Triple Jump

Crimson Tide sophomore Jeremiah Green finished third at the SEC Indoor Championships with his best jump of the season to date, an effort of 52-10 1/4 (16.11m).
Green won SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year honors in 2014 and is looking to contend for All-America honors this weekend, and maybe even more.
The 2014 SEC indoor champion is already one of the top triple jump athletes in Alabama history.
But Green is set on making much better jumps, as his personal best of 53-5 1/2 (16.29m) set in 2014 attests.

Fondren Emerging in the Men's High Jump

Alabama junior Justin Fondren opens his outdoor campaign this weekend at the Crimson Tide Invitational.
Fondren cleared a career-best of 7-3 (2.21m) at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 14.
Fondren tied for second at the SEC Indoor meet at 7-2 1/4 (2.19m).
Fondren has consistently ranked among the SEC's top high jumpers throughout his collegiate career.
This season, Fondren and his coach, jumps legend Dick Booth, are hoping to see the Oxford, Miss., native become one of the nation's leaders in the event.
Fondren earned All-America honors in 2014 by placing fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last June.
Fondren cleared 7-1 (2.15m) on Jan. 31 in Albuquerque. He is currently tied for the seasonal lead in the SEC in the high jump and is the 14th seed at the NCAA meet.
He cleared 7-0 1/4 at the 2015 NCAA indoor championships on March 14 to finish 12th in the event overall.
Fondren cleared 7-1 (2.15m) on Jan. 31 in Albuquerque. He is currently tied for the seasonal lead in the SEC in the high jump and is the 14th seed at the NCAA meet.

Taylor Reaching New Heights in Women's Pole Vault

A sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas, Lakan Taylor is beginning to position herself among the top women's pole vaulters in Alabama history along with making a run at the upper echelon of the collegiate ranks.
Taylor will make her first outdoor appearance at the Crimson Tide Invitational
On Jan. 31, Taylor achieved a new indoor personal best with a clearance of 14 feet, 1 3/4 inches (4.31 meters) to win the event at the New Mexico Team Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. Taylor has improved consistently over the course of the indoor season, taking top collegian honors at the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 24 (13-9 1/4; 4.20m) followed by wins at New Mexico (Jan. 31) and Nebraska (Feb. 7) after opening the season fifth at the Auburn Invitational in Birmingham on Jan. 17 (12-7 1/2; 3.85m).
Taylor enters action this weekend after a sixth-place finish at the 2015 NCAA indoor championships on March 14.

Tide Throws Corps Making Strides Early

Both the men's and women's throws squads had outstanding opening performances at the John Mitchell Alabama Relays on March 19-21.
Sophomore Kyle Felpel won the men's shot put at the Alabama Relays with a toss of 59-0 1/4, edging teammate Hayden Reed whose best throw was 58-3 1/4.
Candicea Bernard completed a Tide's sweep of the shot put events with a victory in the women's event. She won the event with a mark of 51-1 1/2, which was a foot better than the rest of the field. Freshman Haley Teel followed the senior in second with a toss of 49-11.
Returning NCAA and USATF national discus champion Hayden Reed successfully defended his Alabama Relays discus title in his first appearance in the event for the 2015 season. The sophomore threw a best mark of 196-6 to defeat a field of 38 athletes.

Tide Roster Has Youthful Slant

Both the men's and women's rosters of the 2015 Alabama track & field team are predominantly populated by student-athletes classified as redshirt sophomores or younger in classification.
A total of 56.4 percent (22 of 39) of the Tide women's roster consists of either freshmen or sophomores, while 52.2 percent (24 of 46) of the men's roster is either freshmen or sophomores.
Overall, 55.4 percent (46 of 85) members of the current Crimson Tide team are either freshmen or sophomores.

Up Next

The Tide will travel to Gainesville, Fla., for the Florida Relays hosted by the University of Florida on April 2-4.

Following the Tide

Get the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

University of Alabama Athletics