Alabama
SEC Indoor Championships
Alabama Track and Field Earns Five Medals on Day One of SEC Indoor Championships
2/25/2022 11:06:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide’s Bobby Colantonio Jr. and Mercy Chelangat both came away with individual gold on the championships’ first day
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Alabama track and field got the 2022 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships off to a strong start, coming away with two gold and three bronze medals on Friday at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas.
The Crimson Tide picked up wins from Bobby Colantonio Jr. (men's weight throw) and Mercy Chelangat (women's 5,000 meters) and third-place finishes from Chelsea Igberaese (women's weight throw), Emmanuel Ineh (men's long jump) and the men's distance medley relay of Jace Jones, Gabe Serrano, Jacob Lamb and Eliud Kipsang.
Rookie Hillary Cheruiyot crossed the line first in the men's 5,000 meters, finishing well ahead of the pack and was awarded the gold, but following a post-race protest, he was disqualified for stepping on or over the curb for two consecutive steps and his points were wiped off the board.
Both of the Tide's Friday night wins came in dominant fashion. Colantonio Jr. earned his title with a throw of 23.09 meters, more than a meter and a half better than second place. Chelangat crossed the line with an SEC Championship record time of 15:43.64, four seconds ahead of her closest competitor.
Igberaese opened the Tide's day by setting a new school record of 22.46 meters on the way to a bronze-medal finish in the women's weight throw. It marked the fourth time this season that Igberaese has bettered the UA standard. Ineh used a career-best mark of 7.87 meters to take third in the men's long jump, a mark that ranks him third all-time at Alabama.
Jones, Serrano, Lamb and Kipsang combined to post a time of 9:34.74, to take third, more than a second ahead of the rest of the pack.
Alabama's men were dropped into second place with 27 points after the disqualification in the 5,000m, while the UA women are in fourth with 19 points heading into Saturday.
More from Day One
- Kieran McKeag scored in the men's weight throw, taking fourth place after a season-best mark of 21.35 meters
- The women's distance medley relay of Jami Reed, Christal Mosley, Sophie Spada and Flomena Asekol combined to run a 11:12.58, good for sixth place
- Reed (4:41.63) and Asekol (4:41.65) both earned a spot in Saturday's final of the women's mile
- Eliud Kipsang (4:03.56) earned a spot in the final of the men's mile
- Khaleb McRae (46.33) ran a personal-best time to earn a spot in the final of the 400 meters
- Jacob Lamb is coming back in the men's 800 meters after running a 1:50.34 in Friday's prelims
Up Next for the Tide
- Alabama returns to action Saturday for the second and final day of the 2022 SEC Indoor Championships
- The Crimson Tide's day gets started at 2 p.m. CT with the men's shot put
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
