Alabama
SEC Outdoor Championships
Alabama Track and Field Opens Outdoor Postseason Thursday at SEC Championships
5/11/2022 6:03:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide opens competition Thursday at the Ole Miss Track & Field Complex in Oxford, Miss.
OXFORD, Miss. – The Alabama track and field teams finished up their final practice before the start of the postseason at the Ole Miss Track & Field Complex Wednesday afternoon and is now ready to roll into the 2022 Southeastern Conference Championships in Oxford, Miss.
Alabama is seeded No. 1 heading into the conference championships in six different events, including Eliud Kipsang, the collegiate record holder in the men's 1,500 meters. Kipsang is also one of 10 men on the The Bowerman Watch List, tabbing him as one of the nation's top track and field athletes.
Mercy Chelangat, the defending SEC Champion in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter, is set to defend her titles, starting with Thursday night's 10,000 meter race. Chelangat finished second in the 10,000 meters at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships and was second at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in the fall.
The championships get underway for the Crimson Tide Thursday at noon with the women's hammer throw at 12 p.m. CT.
Head Coach Dan Waters Said
"Obviously, this is the part of the season we've been focused on. Track and field is unique in that you spend the regular season preparing for the postseason. To put it in football terms, we're playing all 14 teams at once this weekend and we'll know our record all at once. We can finish 14-0 or 0-14, or anywhere in between this weekend. It's all on the line at the SEC Championships. It's a very dynamic meet and it's a lot of fun with a lot of ups and downs, so we'll see what happens."
Top Seeds
- Eliud Kipsang's collegiate record of 3:33.74 seeds him No. 1 in the men's 1,500 meters
- Mercy Chelangat (15:17.28) and Victor Kiprop (13:24.48) are the No. 1 seeds in the women's and men's 5,000 meters, respectively
- Isaac Odugbesan (20.66 meters) is seeded No. 1 in the men's shot put after breaking a 42-year-old Alabama school record during the regular season
- Alan de Falchi (60.57 meters) is seeded No. 1 in the men's discus heading into the weekend
- Kieran McKeag (71.53 meters) is the No. 1 seed in the men's hammer throw coming into Oxford
More Crimson Tide Standouts Heading into SECs
- In addition to half a dozen top seeds coming into the weekend, Alabama has 13 additional performances that rank in the top-five in the conference heading to Oxford
- Among those top-five seeds, Jerimiah Evans (58.21 meters) is sitting at third in the men's discus
- Megan Patton (34:31.77) is sitting third in the women's 10,000 meters
- The men's 4x100-meter relay (38.86) is seeded third coming into the weekend
Alabama in the National Top-10
- Eliud Kipsang's collegiate record in the men's 1,500 meters (3:33.74) is ranked No. 1, while his 800-meter effort (1:47.16) has him sitting 10th
- Tarsis Orogot is fourth in the men's 200 meters after posting a career-best 20.15 to close the regular season
- Mercy Chelangat is ranked third in the women's 5,000 meters after posting a 15:17.28 earlier this season
- Isaac Odugbesan shattered a 42-year-old school record in the men's shot put with a toss of 20.66 meters, which ranks him third nationally
- Kieran McKeag went 71.53 meters in the men's hammer at the Crimson Tide Invitational to rank fourth nationally
- The men's 4x100-meter relay of Jekovan Rhetta, Tarsis Orogot, Mason Phillips and Demetrius Jackson laid down a blistering 38.86 which ranks eighth nationally
- Victor Kiprop is eighth (13:24.48) in the 5,000 meters and 10th in the men's 10,000 meters (28:15.72)
- Bobby Colantonio Jr.'s 70.39 meters at the Crimson Tide Invitational ranks him 10th nationally in the men's hammer
Last Time at the SEC Outdoors Championships
- At the 2021 SEC Outdoor Championships in College Station, Texas the Alabama men took second and the women were third
- The Crimson Tide men tallied 109 points, while the women totaled 116 points
- It was the Alabama men's best SEC outdoor finish since also finishing second in 1985 and the highest for the women since winning the title since 1994
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Players Mentioned
