Alabama Track and Field Men and Women Move Up the National Rankings
4/23/2019 1:05:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide men are No. 4 and the women are No. 7 in this week’s ranking, with both squads moving up two spots from last week
NEW ORLEANS – The Alabama track and field men are No. 4 and the women are No. 7 in this week's NCAA Division I Track & Field National Rating Index, the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced. Both squads moved up two places from last week's rankings.
The index, a points system maintained by the USTFCCCA, lists the Tide men with 194.03 points, which ranks No. 1 in the South region, while the women are credited with 176.39 points, ranking third in the South region.
Alabama is heading into its seventh and final week of regular-season competition with a trip to Baton Rouge for the LSU Invitational. The Tide enters the week with 21 individual performances ranked in the top-20 in NCAA Division I this season, including nine in the top-10.
Senior Gilbert Kigen and Kord Ferguson along with junior Shelby McEwen posted top-10 efforts last weekend, all coming in different meets. McEwen cleared a season-best 7-4.25 (2.24m) in the high jump at the Auburn Invitational to check in at No. 3 in the nation. Kigen ran a career-best 13:34.95 in the 5,000 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational to rank sixth nationally. Ferguson is also ranked sixth nationally after a season-best toss of 199-8.0 (60.85m) in the discus at the Kansas Relays.
Other big performances from last week include junior Esther Gitahi's school-record 15:58.72 in the women's 5,000 meters at the Bryan Clay, making her the first UA woman under 16 minutes in the 5,000, and senior Alfred Chelanga's 13:42.31 in the men's 5,000 at the same meet. Both times rank in the top-20 nationally.
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