Alabama
NCAA East Preliminary
Alabama Track and Field Qualifies 12 Individuals and Two relays on the NCAA East Preliminary’s Final Day
5/25/2019 9:37:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Overall, the Crimson Tide earned 23 spots in individual events as well as two relay berths at the upcoming NCAA Championships
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Alabama's track and field squads qualified 12 individuals and two relays for the NCAA Championships on the final day of the East Preliminary held at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., Saturday night.
The top-12 finishers in each event at the East Preliminary earned berths at the national championships, which will be held in Austin, Texas in June.
Overall, Alabama qualified a program-best 15 women to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, while six men earned a trip to Austin. The Tide women earned 16 scoring opportunities at the national championships, including 14 individual events and two relays, while the men have nine scoring opportunities in Texas.
"Our women continued what has been a great season, finishing this weekend off strong," UA head coach Dan Waters said. "Our men haven't had the year that we hoped for, but they continued to fight all the way down the line. We're taking a tough group to Austin and the national championships, where I know we'll scrap for every point."
Alabama opened the day with senior Kord Ferguson and freshman Chago Basso both making the NCAA Championships field in the men's shot put. Ferguson, who qualified in the discus on the East Preliminary's first day, posted a throw of 62-10.75 (19.17m) to advance in the shot put, while Basso earned his first trip to nationals with a toss of 61-6.75 (18.76m).
All three of Alabama's women shot putters earned a trip to Austin. Senior Portious Warren, the SEC champion in the event, finished first in Jacksonville with a toss of 58.11.25 (17.96m), while fellow senior Haley Teel took third with a 55-5.5 (16.90m). Sophomore Nickolette Dunbar also earned a spot Austin with a throw of 53-5.75 (16.30m). The Tide was the only school to qualify three women in the shot put.
Junior Shelby McEwen, the 2019 NCAA Indoor high jump champion, earned a spot at the outdoor championships with ease, passing on the first three heights and sailing over the only two bars he attempted, including a best of 7-2.25 (2.19m) to punch his ticket to Austin.
Sophomore Tamara Clark (22.78), junior Mauricia Prieto (22.99) and sophomore Daija Lampkin (22.99) earned a place at the national championships in the 200 meters. It was Clark's second berth after earning a place in the 100-meter field on Friday.
Junior Robert Dunning also doubled up on Saturday, becoming the only male in the East Preliminary to qualify to nationals in both the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles after earning his 110 berth with a career-best 13.64 on Saturday.
The women's 4x100-meter relay of Lampkin, Prieto, Krystal Sparling and Clark ran the third-fastest time in school history, a 43.05, to win the East Preliminary and move on to the national championships. The Tide also advanced in the women's 4x400-meter relay when senior Takyera Roberson, junior Katie Funcheon, Prieto and junior Natassha McDonald ran a 3:28.93, the fourth-fastest mark in school history.
Junior Esther Gitahi won the women's 5,000 meters with a time of 16:03.48, more than a second ahead of the field, to advance to the national championships, while senior Gilbert Kigen posted a 14:00.71 to earn a spot in the men's 5,000 meters race after already earning a place in the 10,000-meter field on Thursday.
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Players Mentioned
