Alabama Track & Field Hosts Crimson Tide Invitational at Sam Bailey Stadium this Weekend

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After competing on the road through the first portion of the outdoor season, Alabama track & field is staying home this weekend, hosting the Crimson Tide Invitational Friday and Saturday at the Sam Bailey Track and Field Stadium.

The Crimson Tide welcomes a total of 20 teams from nine states, including Southeastern Conference foes Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee. Of the 20 teams in attendance, seven hail from within the state of Alabama.

Action gets underway Friday at 2 p.m. CT with the women's hammer throw and the field events continue through the triple jump which starts at 9 p.m. CT. Friday's running events begin at 8 p.m. CT and end with the men's 5,000 meters, which starts at 9:35 p.m. CT.

Saturday opens with field events at 9 a.m. CT with the discus and finishes with the shot put which gets underway at 3:55 p.m. CT. Running events open at 1 p.m. with the 4x100 meter relay and close with the 4x400 meter relay at 6:30 p.m.

Admission to the meet is free. Gates will open to spectators one hour prior to the start of the first event.

Head Coach Dan Waters Said

"There's a great homefield advantage when we compete here at the Sam Bailey Track and Field Stadium. The athletes are comfortable, they know the rings, they know the runways and the track, they know how to warmup and they're sleeping in their own beds. Every time we walk out of the stadium at the end of a home meet we're really happy with our performances, setting incredible PRs and accomplishing some really special things. The field is really good this year, there's going to be great competition in every event and we're really looking forward to a great weekend."

The Crimson TIde Top-10 Nationally

A total of five Alabama track and field athletes are ranked in the top-10 nationally coming into the weekend
Eliud Kipsang ranks first in the men's 1,500 meters, both in this season and all-time collegiately after posting a 3:33.74 last weekend
Mercy Chelangat ranks second nationally in the women's 5,000 meters with an impressive 15:17.28 last weekend, which broke her own school record
Victor Kiprop ranks fifth with a time of 28:15.72 time in the 10,000 meters earlier this season
Kiprop is also ranked seventh in the 5,000 meters after running 13:24.48 last weekend
Alan de Falchi is 10^th nationally in the men's discus after a toss of 60.57 meters last weekend
Bobby Colantonio Jr. is 10^th nationally in the men's hammer throw after a toss of 70.04 meters earlier this season

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