Alabama
SEC Outdoor Track & Filed Championships
Alabama’s Kord Ferguson Wins the Discus on the SEC Outdoor Championships’ Final Day
5/11/2019 10:01:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The senior opened the final day of the championships with his seventh career SEC medal and first title
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Alabama track and field senior Kord Ferguson opened day three of the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships by winning the first SEC title of his career at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark. It was the first of five Crimson Tide podium finishes on the championships' final day and one of 10 overall.
"That was a great way to get the day started," UA head coach Dan Waters said. "Kord has had his share of second-place finishes at the SEC championships during his career, so it was great to see him break through and get the win today."
Ferguson won the discus with a throw of 195-10 (59.70m), finishing more than three feet ahead of the field. It was his third discus medal at the SEC championships after finishing second in 2016 and 2018 and his seventh SEC medal overall.
Senior Gilbert Kigen, the 10,000-meter champion on Thursday, took second in the 5,000 meters with a 13:54.84, just three-tenths of a second out of first.
In addition to Ferguson and Kigen, senior Portious Warren also brought home an SEC title this weekend, taking top honors in the women's shot put on Friday.
The Crimson Tide also garnered a trio of bronze medals on Saturday. Esther Gitahi medaled in the women's 1,500 meters with a career-best time of 4:19.00. The junior just missed a second medal, taking fourth in the 5,000 meters later in the evening, bettering her own school record with a 15:56.03.
Senior Keitavious Walter, who took fourth in the 100 meters earlier in the day, came back to earn bronze in the 200 meters, crossing the line with a season-best 20.42. Senior Will Herrscher took third in the men's pole vault after clearing a career-best 17-10.5 (5.45m), the second-best mark in school history.
"While we didn't finish the team races the way we wanted to, we had some great performances today and this weekend as a whole," Waters said. "Now we have to get ready for the NCAA Championships and keep competing and fighting to improve."
Other Saturday scorers for the Tide included senior Skyler Bowden (men's 400m), sophomore Tamara Clark (women's 200 meters), Stacey Destin (high jump), junior Robert Dunning (men's 110-meter hurdles), Abigail Kwarteng (high jump), sophomore Daija Lampkin (women's 100 meters), junior Mauricia Prieto (women's 100 and 200 meters), freshman Noel Rotich (men's 5,000m) and junior Michael Wiggins (men's triple jump).
The Crimson Tide men and women both finished fifth, with the men tallying 77 points and the women scoring 69 points.
Alabama continues the championship season with the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Fla. May 23-25.
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