Alabama
SEC Indoor Championships
Alabama Track & Field Collects Three Medals on Day One of SEC Indoor Championships
2/28/2020 11:45:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Both the Crimson Tide men and women currently stand in fifth place
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Alabama track & field team set the tone early at day one of the 2020 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships, nabbing three medals at Texas A&M's Gilliam Stadium on Friday.
Live Coverage
- Saturday's broadcast starts at 3:55 p.m. CT on SEC Network+
- Also, SEC Network will show tape-delayed television coverage of Saturday's finals. The broadcast will run Sunday at 7 p.m. CT.
From Head Coach Dan Waters
"There was some super positive stuff from the first day. Mercy Chelangat ran a fantastic race in a very stacked 5000m field. Cherisse Murray battled an illness to place and score. Then Esther Gitahi making the final in the women's distance was great, along with two girls in the final in the women's 200m, one girl in the final for the women's 400m and another girl in the final for the 60m. We have a lot of scoring opportunities on the women's side and some of our best events come up tomorrow. On the men's side, I was really pleased with some of the finishes that we had today. Noel Rotich did a fantastic job, he came in ranked sixth and finished fourth. Isaac (Odugbesan) and Chago (Basso) did a great job with the shot put. Ryan Lipe in pole vault did what he had to do with some early clearances. Obviously (Robert) Dunning looked spectacular in the hurdles, so I am looking forward to watching him run tomorrow."
Women's Shot Put
— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) February 29, 2020
?? Cherisse Murray 16.17m (53-¾)#RollTide pic.twitter.com/MB3Gh79ajO
Junior Cherisse Murray in Shot Put
- "I came to perform today, meaning to win, but it didn't happen. My first few throws, they went well, that was just to get me to the final, and go from there."
- After making the final flight Murray launched a toss of 16.17m (53-3/4) to mark the Tide's first medal finish.
?? Medalist Moments
— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) February 29, 2020
?? » Ryan Lipe #RollTide pic.twitter.com/IP9HYt2LEA
Junior Ryan Lipe in Pole Vault
- "We just talked about being clean all through today and just going in with an assassin's mindset of just one bar, one clear. It was really cool to score some points for Alabama too and to be an SEC medalist."
- Lipe used a clearance of 5.26m (17-3) to land him bronze honors on the podium.
That second place finish.
— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) February 29, 2020
??????#RollTide pic.twitter.com/q3oMZKVlIf
Sophomore Mercy Chelangat in 5000m
- "At first, I was feeling a little bit nervous just like normal, but when I went in there I started fast and began to fall behind so much. Then, I decided to stick with my plan and run with the fast club. After that I was able to take care of business."
- In a stacked women's 5000m field, Chelangat separated from the pack to place second with a time of 15:53.97.
Preliminary Results
- The women's sprinter also found success, defending 200m champion, junior Tamara Clark clocked a 23.03 in the prelims. Senior Takyera Roberson (23.34) qualified with a sixth-place finish.
- Clark also saw action in the women's 60m prelims, posting the fastest time of the day with a 7.26.
- Senior Natassha McDonald survived and advanced in the women's 400m with a time of 52.78 in the prelims.
- In the women's one-mile, senior Esther Gitahi will run Saturday after crossing the finish line sixth (4:54.09).
Notable Finishes
- Through four events in the men's heptathlon, junior Jake Spotswood stands in fifth place.
- The men collected a pair of fourth place finishes Friday, the first from sophomore Noel Rotich (14:00.65) in the men's 5000m and then from junior Isaac Odugbesan (19.54m/64-1 1/4) in men's shotput.
- To cap off day one, the women's DMR used a season-best time 11:27.42 to place fourth. The relay consisted of graduate student Katie Funcheon, senior Kristoni Barnes and freshmen Jami Reed and Amaris Tyynismaa.
Women's DMR
— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) February 29, 2020
4?th Alabama with a season best 11:27.42#RollTide pic.twitter.com/m60fsdIyBy
Team Standings
- The No. 17 Crimson Tide women currently sit at No. 5 with 19 points, while the Alabama men are also in fifth with 18 points.
- Arkansas is in the lead in both the men's and women's standings after the first day of action, with the No. 10 Razorback men leading host Texas A&M, 35-32, and the No. 3 women lead Tennessee by a score of 36-28.
Closing Comments from Waters
"We're nicked up a little bit going into this so we're battling and fighting, so I am proud of the way they're competing through some adversity today, throughout this whole indoor season. That's nice to see and we're going to continue that and that hopefully sets the tone for tomorrow and beyond."
Up Next
The Crimson Tide head to Albuquerque, N.M., March 13-14 for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships.
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.
Players Mentioned
