Alabama
NCAA East Regional
Alabama Track & Field Sending Deep Squad to NCAA East Regional this Weekend
5/24/2017 12:59:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Crimson Tide men and women begin competition Thursday with sights on advancing to NCAA Championships
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama track & field teams will compete for spots in the NCAA Championships when the Crimson Tide travels to Lexington, Ky., for the NCAA East Track & Field Regional, May 25-27 at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track & Field Complex.
The Crimson Tide will send 24 men, 19 women and four relay teams to Lexington for what is the qualifying round for the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships to be held June 7-10 at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
The Tide has entries across all disciplines at this year's regional. Seven jumpers and pole vaulters rank in the top 48 regionally in five events, including three-time SEC long jump champion Quanesha Burks. Alabama will also enter 10 throwers (seven men, three women) across all the throwing events - men's and women's shot put, discus, hammer throw and javelin. Thirteen sprinters (four men, nine women) will also make the trip, including junior Jereem Richards, who owns the fastest 200-meter time nationally at 19.98. Eight distance runners (five men, three women) and three hurdlers (two men, one woman). The men's and women's 4x100-meter relays and 4x400-meter relays are also slated to compete.
Alabama in the National Rankings
The Alabama track and field teams held their positions in the latest U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Rankings, released May 22. The men's team remains No. 4 with 231.13 points while the women's team stays at No. 14 with 129.92 points.
Burks Remains on Bowerman Watch List
Alabama senior long jumper Quanesha Burks was named to the latest Bowerman Award Watch List, released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on May 18. This is Burks' fourth appearance on the Bowerman list this season and the fifth of her career. Burks won her third consecutive long jump title at the SEC Championships on May 12 and anchored Alabama's 4x100-meter relay to a school-record time of 43.17 at the SEC Relays on April 29. Burks holds the top-10 indoor and outdoor long jump marks in Crimson Tide history.
Head Coach Dan Waters' Outlook
"We're sending a strong group of athletes to the NCAA Regional in Lexington. This is a very competitive regional so we will have to be at our best this weekend. We had a number of good performances at the SEC Championships so I am encouraged about where we are heading into this meet."
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.
Players Mentioned
