Alabama
Joe Walker Invitational
Alabama Notches Third Event Sweep in as Many Weeks during First Day of Joe Walker Invitational
4/7/2023 10:24:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide will compete in eight different events on Saturday to close the weekend meet
OXFORD, Miss. – On the opening day of the Joe Walker Invitational, Alabama track and field swept the hammer throw event behind wins from Bobby Colantonio Jr. and Chelsea Igberaese.
In his first competition of his final outdoor season, Colantonio Jr. took home Alabama's first event win of the day. The reigning SEC individual champion needed only his second throw to seal the victory after launching a 70.47-meter (231-2) mark.
On the women's side, Igberaese followed suit with a first-place, hammer throw finish of her own. Her 61.21-meter (200-10) throw proved the winner during the fifth of six total rounds. Later, in the women's hammer invite, teammate Samantha Kunza recorded the second-farthest mark in UA women's hammer throw history to round out the event.
Colantonio Jr. and Igberaese now join 100-meter dash duo Amari Brown and Jekovan Rhetta (Bulldog Relays, March 24-25), as well as 5,000-meter duo Elka Machan and Will Pinson (Florida Relays, March 31) as the third consecutive pairing to earn an event sweep for the Crimson Tide.
Eleven Alabama athletes will compete in Oxford for the final day of the meet. The Crimson Tide trio of Barry Evans, Alan de Falchi and DeMarco Lemons will begin at noon CT on Saturday in the men's discus.
Crimson Tide Top Finishes
- Bobby Colantonio Jr. needed only his second throw, in his 2023 outdoor season debut, to claim the eventual first-place crown in the men's hammer throw (70.47m | 231-2)
- Chelsea Igberaese's fifth throw of the women's portion solidified the women's hammer title (61.21m | 200-10), making it Alabama's third straight event sweep to open the outdoor campaign
- Later, in the women's hammer invite, Samantha Kunza recorded the second-farthest mark in UA women's hammer throw history, via a 63.61-meter (208-8) performance. Teammate Taylor Gorum finished in ninth (63.52m | 208-4).
- Julian Collins (7.29m | 23-11) and Quincy Scott (7.28m | 23-10.75) finished first and second, respectively, in the men's long jump to secure another event title for the Crimson Tide
- On the women's side, Caelyn Harris recorded a fifth-place showing in the long jump (6.00m | 19-8.25)
- Karmen Williams rounded out Alabama's first day of action in the women's javelin, finishing in sixth place behind a 42.67-meter (140-0) showing to secure Alabama its eighth top-10 finish of the meet's opening day
Up Next
- Alabama returns to action Saturday for the final day of the Joe Walker Invitational. The Crimson Tide will begin at Noon CT in the men's discus.
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