Alabama
SEC Championships
Alabama Track and Field Set for SEC Championships
5/12/2021 3:53:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide gets the three-day event underway on Thursday
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Alabama track and field teams are in College Station, Texas, this week for the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championships. The three-day championship is being held at E.B. Cushing Stadium on the Texas A&M campus starting Thursday.
The Alabama women come into the weekend ranked seventh in the latest USTFCCCA National Track & Field Rating Index, making them one of five SEC teams in the top 10. The Crimson Tide men are 11th in this week's index and are one of four SEC teams to figure among the top 12.
Alabama Head Coach Dan Waters
"We're looking forward to a great week here in College Station. We've already produced some really special performances and we want to keep rolling as we hit the championship portion of the season. We need to go out there and take advantage of the opportunities we have and scrap for every point. After last year's outdoor season was canceled, we're really looking forward to being back on the track in a championship setting and we appreciate everyone along the way at the national, conference and institutional level, who made this weekend a reality."
Top-3 Nationally
- Alabama has two women and two men ranked in the top-three nationally heading into the SEC Championships
- Tamara Clark is ranked No. 1 in the women's 100 meters and No. 2 in the 200 meters
- Mercy Chelangat is No. 1 in the women's 5,000 meters and No. 2 in the 10,000 meters
- Robert Dunning is No. 2 in the 110-meter hurdles, while Eliud Kipsang is No. 3 in the men's 1,500 meters
The Crimson Tide at the Top of the SEC Rankings
- Tamara Clark leads the SEC in the 100 meters (10.96) and is second in the 200 meters (22.50)
- Mercy Chelangat is ranked No. 1 in both the 5,000 meters (15:17.79) and 10,000 meters (32:31.43)
- Eliud Kipsang is ranked No. 1 in the 1,500 meters (3:36.00), No. 2 in the 800 meters (1:47.20) and No. 3 in the 5,000 meters (13:39.67)
- Vincent Kiprop is ranked No. 1 in the 10,000 meters (28:23.60)
- Ryan Lipe is ranked No. 1 in the pole vault (5.60m)
- Taylor Gorum is No. 1 in the discus (54.92m)
- Amaris Tyynismaa is ranked second in the 5,000 meters (15:33.52) and third in the 1,500 meters (4:12.72)
- Robert Dunning is No. 2 in the 110-meter hurdles (13.28) and No. 3 in the 400-meter hurdles (49.70)
- The Tide women are ranked second in the 4x100-meter relay (43.47) coming into the championships
- Cherisse Murray is third in the shot put (16.76m)
School Records in 2021
- Tamara Clark bettered her own school record in the 100 meters on April 24, going 10.96 to become the first UA woman to go under 11 seconds
- Clark's 10.96 in the 100 meters ranks seventh all-time among collegians
- Mercy Chelangat broke both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters records, dropping more than 30 seconds off the previous 5,000 meters mark on April 25 and more than 30 seconds off the 32-year old 10,000 meters mark on March 25
- Chelangat's 5,000 meters time of 15:17.79 ranks her ninth all-time among collegians
- Chelangat's 10,000 meters record came in her first collegiate 10k
- Eliud Kipsang broke the school standard in the 1,500 meters on April 9 with a 3:36.00, nearly three seconds better than the previous record
- Robert Dunning broke the school 110-meter hurdles record on April 24 with a 13.28, and the 400-meter hurdles record on April 2 with a 49.70, bettering the previous mark that was set in 1983
Alabama in the World (2021 Edition)
- Tamara Clark's 10.96 in the 100 meters and 22.50 in the 200 meters both rank fifth internationally for the 2021 season
- Clark holds the third-fastest 100 meters and fourth-fastest 200 meters times by an American so far this season
- Robert Dunning is tied for fifth-fastest time in the world this season and owns the second-fastest time by an American in the 110-meter hurdles with a mark of 13.28
- Eliud Kipsang's time of 3:36.00 from the Crimson Tide Invitational is the 11th-fastest time in the world this season in the 1,500 meters, and is the fastest time by a Kenyan this season
- Ryan Lipe's jump of 5.60 meters is tied for 19th in the world and 14th by an American in the pole vault
- Mercy Chelangat ranks 27th in world in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:17.79
Day One at the SEC Championships
- Alabama gets things going Thursday at 12 p.m. CT with the men's hammer throw with Bobby Colantonio Jr. and Kieran McKeag stepping in the circle for the Tide
- Jake Spotswood gets the decathlon started at 2 p.m. CT with the 100 meters
- Alabama gets things started on the track with the 800 meters, with the men starting at 6:30 p.m. CT and the women at 6:50 p.m. CT
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
