Alabama Track & Field Caps Successful 2017 Season with All-America Performances and Top School Marks
6/14/2017 4:15:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Record-setting underclassmen will carry momentum into 2018 season
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama track & field teams topped off a strong 2017 campaign with school record and All-America performances across all disciplines at last week's NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Twenty-four Crimson Tide student-athletes earned All-America honors and the women's 4x100-meter relay reset the school record for the third time this season at the NCAA meet.Â
"I'm very pleased and excited about the passion and energy and the way the team bought into what we were trying to accomplish this year," head coach Dan Waters said. "We fought hard in a lot of different places. Every time we asked the team to step up and do something special, they absolutely did. I couldn't be prouder of that competitiveness."
As a team, the Tide men finished 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for their first top-10 finish outdoors since 2001 and finished eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, giving the Alabama men their first indoor and outdoor top-10 finishes in the same season since 2001. The Tide women finished third at the NCAA Indoor Championships for their first top-three finish since 1994. The combined top-10 finishes indoors for the men and women in 2017 is a first for the Crimson Tide.
In Southeastern Conference competition, the Alabama men recorded their best indoor performance in 33 years, finishing second with 93 points at the SEC Indoor Championships in February. The point total is one off the team record set in 1984. The Alabama women finished sixth at SEC Indoors with 51 points for their best finish since a sixth-place finish in 2006.
The men took third place at the SEC Outdoor Championships to give Alabama top-three finishes indoors and outdoors in the same season for the first time since 1986.
Individually, the Crimson Tide will return at least one of their top two 2017 performers in 15 men's and 18 women's outdoor individual events and 12 men's and 14 women's indoor individual events.
Alabama traveled 30 athletes to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2017. Eighteen of the 30 will return in 2018, including seven school record holders: 2017 juniors Jereem Richards (indoor and outdoor 200 meters, indoor 4x400 relay) and Alfred Chelanga (10,000 meters); sophomores Skyler Bowden (indoor 4x400 relay), Stacey Destin (indoor high jump, pentathlon) and Will Herrscher (indoor pole vault) and freshmen Symone Darius (4x100 relay) and Takyera Roberson (4x100 relay, indoor 4x400 relay).
Other returning school record holders in 2018 include junior Haley Teel (indoor shot put) and sophomore Daniel Haugh (weight throw).
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Players Mentioned
