Alabama Track and Field Has 23 Set to Compete at 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships

6/3/2019 9:00:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country

The Crimson Tide contingent has 25 scoring opportunities, including 23 in individual events as well as two relays

AUSTIN, Texas - Alabama has 23 student-athletes set to compete at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships June 5-8 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas on the University of Texas campus.

Of the Crimson Tide's 23, 19 qualified in individual events, while four are part of the women's relay pool. The 23 in Austin includes six making their debut at the NCAA Division I Championships. Overall, those in attendance at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships will have 64 NCAA D-I Championship appearances between them, including indoor, outdoor and cross country.

The Crimson Tide has 25 scoring opportunities at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The UA women's 16 scoring opportunities (14 individual and two relays) ranks second among the teams in Austin, just one behind Arkansas. The Tide has a diverse lineup at the championships, with student-athletes competing in the sprints, jumps, throws, hurdles and relays over the four-day competition.

There are five seniors, eight juniors and four sophomores among the Tide women in Austin for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Four UA women are making their NCAA D-I Championships debut – senior Krystal Sparling and juniors D'Jai Baker, Esther Gitahi and Abigail Kwarteng. Seniors Portious Warren (shot put) and Stacey Destin (pentathlon) along with sophomore Tamara Clark (200 meters) all scored at the 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, leading the Crimson Tide to a seventh-place finish. Juniors Katie Funcheon, Natassha McDonald, Mauricia Prieto and Takyera Roberson competed at the 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships as part of the Tide's 4x400-meter relay.

Destin and Roberson lead the Tide with five NCAA D-I Championship appearances each, followed by Clark, junior Symone Darius and Warren with four a piece. Funcheon, sophomore Daija Lampkin, Prieto and senior Haley Teel are making their third D-I Championship appearance, while McDonald, senior Kiara Williams and sophomores Nickolette Dunbar and Samantha Zelden are all making their second appearances.

The nation's No. 1-ranked thrower in the shot put, Warren is looking to better her third-place finish at the 2019 indoor championships. In addition to scoring at the 2019 indoor championships with a second-place finish in the 200 meters, Clark was part of the 4x100 relay at that took sixth at the 2018 outdoor championships along with Darius and Lampkin. Darius and Roberson were also part of the UA 4x100-meter relay squad that took second at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Roberson also scored at the 2017 indoor championships as part of Alabama's fourth-place 4x400-meter relay. Destin has scored individual points at the NCAA Championships five times during her UA career, taking fifth at the 2019 indoor championships in the pentathlon, fourth in the high jump at the 2017 indoor championships and sixth in the high jump at the 2018 indoor and 2017 outdoor championships. She also took sixth in the pentathlon at the 2017 indoor championships.

The Crimson Tide men have a mixture of youth and experience with two freshmen, two juniors and two seniors at the outdoor championships. Freshman Chago Basso is making his first NCAA Championships appearance, while freshman Bobby Colantonio Jr., is making his second after competing at the NCAA Indoor Championships this winter. Junior Robert Dunning is also making his first NCAA D-I Championships appearance after sitting out the indoor season.

Senior Gilbert Kigen, in his second year with the Tide, is making his fifth NCAA D-I Championships appearance, after competing at the cross country, indoor and outdoor championships in 2017-18, and the indoor championships in 2019. Senior Kord Ferguson closes out his UA career at his fifth NCAA D-I Championships and his third outdoor championships. Junior Shelby McEwen is at his fourth NCAA D-I Championship in his two seasons as a member of the Crimson Tide.

McEwen won the 2019 NCAA Indoor high jump title after finishing runner-up outdoors in 2018 and taking third at the 2018 indoor championships. Kigen scored at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, taking seventh in the 10,000 meters and at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships, taking fourth over the 10-kilometer course. Ferguson has scored at the national championships three times, taking fourth in the discus at the 2018 outdoor championships and sixth at the 2018 and 2019 indoor championships in the shot put.

The Tide's contingent earned their championship berths at the NCAA East Preliminary. The national championship field is made up of the top-12 finishers from the East and West Preliminary for a total of 24 in each event.

For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.