Alabama Track and Field Continues Progression
5/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama track team has plowed forward after a coaching change before the 2012 track and field seasons. Head coach Dan Waters and his staff have cultivated a championship atmosphere and promote excellence among the team's athletes.
One indicator of the team's progress is the men's and women's finishes at the 2015 Outdoor SEC Championships. The men claimed ninth place with 47.50 points while the women finished seventh with 55.50 points.
This year the Tide produced 22 scorers (12 women, 10 men) in 11 women's and nine men's events. Alabama also scored in the men's and women's 4x100-meter relay and the men's 4x400-meter relay to cap the weekend.
In 2002, the Tide men scored 58 points to finish 6th. That was the last year the Alabama team scored more points than the 2015 total without the current coaching staff. In three of those nine years, the Tide was unable to produce a top-three performance in any event. In contrast, Alabama has had a finisher in the top two of at least one event in three of the coaches' four years at the Capstone.
The women's team has been steadily rebuilt since the introduction of the new staff in the 2011-2012 school year. In 2011, the team finished 11th at the SEC Outdoor Championships, garnering just 31 points. This year's team came close to doubling that with top eight finishers in every discipline.
Key performances at this year's SEC meet included a win by sophomore Quanesha Burks in the women's long jump and runner-up finishes by senior Remona Burchell in the 100 meters and sophomore Hayden Reed in the men's discus.
Burks tied the meet record of 22 feet, five and one-quarter inches set by Ole Miss's Brittney Reese In 2008. Burks also beat her own Alabama school record in the event. The previous school record stood from April 18 when Burks jumped 21 feet, nine inches at the John Jacobs Invitational.
Reed, the reigning NCAA champion in the men's discus, held his focus through a powerful rainstorm to toss the implement 198 feet, four inches, his second-best throw of the season. Burchell made her second appearance of the year in the 100 meters, running 11.31 in the finals of the event. She was out-leaned at the finish by Texas A&M sophomore Aaliyah Brown who was the winner by one-one hundredth of a second.
The Tide looks to carry the momentum from the SEC Championships into the NCAA East Preliminary, as well as the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Alabama athletes will compete in the East Preliminary meet May 28, 29, and 30 for an opportunity to enter the NCAA championships.
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.
