Alabama
Samford Invitational
Alabama Concludes Samford Invitational Highlighted by Eight First-Place Finishes
1/19/2024 10:57:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide won eight separate events and picked up 24 top-10 finishes in the one-day Invitational
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After competing in a total of 19 events at the Samford Invitational Friday, Alabama walked home with eight first-place finishes to go along with 24 top-10 results, 19 of which coming on the track. The Crimson Tide closed the one-day event that was held at the Birmingham Crossplex with a clean sweep of the men's mile run.
Alabama's women's weight throw duo of Chandler Hayden and Mye'Joi Williams opened the day up with top-five finishes, highlighted by Hayden's winning toss of 20.86 meters (68-5.25). Williams finished fourth and improved her personal best with a launch of 61-0.00 (18.59m).
Before Williams' day was done, she would also record a first-place finish in the women's shot put (17.21m | 56-5.75). Amani Heaven also picked up a third-place finish in the same event (15.65m | 51-4.25).
On the men's side, Ruben Banks gave the Tide a first-place finish (22.59m | 74-1.50) in the men's weight throw with a new personal record.
Over on the track, the Crimson Tide would collect four first-place finishes to go along with 19 top-10 finishes. In the women's mile, UA had four top-10 finishes, including a first-place finish from Doris Lemngole (4:40.08) with the sixth-best time in program history. The quad group of Arthur Graham (4:08.75), Jace Jones (4:14.47), Knox Exton (4:15.68) and Brady Barton (4:16.21) swept the first-four places in the men's mile, capped off by an event win from Graham.
In the women's 60-meter, Milan Fields finished first with a 7.34 finish, while her counterpart, Jekovan Rhetta, in the men's 60-meter, scored a second-place finish with an official time of 6.683.
Head Coach Dan Waters Said
"Overall, we had a solid team performance today. We had event wins, several top-five finishes and multiple PRs throughout the day. We'll learn from this weekend as we progress deeper into our indoor season, and it's important for us to carry this energy with us as we keep fine-tuning the little things as the competition ramps up from here out."
Crimson Tide Top Finishes
- Chandler Hayden (first | 20.86m | 68-5.25) and Mye'Joi Williams (fourth | 18.59m | 61-0.00) recorded two top-five finishes in the women's weight throw
- Williams' mark is a new PR
- Williams picked up her second top-five finish of the day in the women's shot put, throwing a 17.21-meter (56-5.75) mark to win the event. Amani Heaven (15.65m | 51-4.25) also finished third in the event.
- Victoria Faber (fourth | 3.67m | 12-0.50) recorded a top-five finish in the women's pole vault
- On the men's side, Ruben Banks (22.59m | 74-1.50) finished first in the men's weight throw
- With his mark, Banks maintains second on the all-time top-10 list, however improves this mark by 0.28 meters
- Julian Collins (fourth | 14.25m | 46-9) added another top-five finish for the Tide in the men's triple jump
- John Landers (4.71m | 15-5.50) would add another top-10 finish for Alabama with a sixth-place finish in the men's pole vault
- Nathan Cooper (fourth | 16.08m | 52-9.25) concluded the field section of the meet for Alabama with a top-five finish in the men's shot put
- On the track, Doris Lemngole (first | 4:40.08), Jami Reed (fourth | 4:48.56), Lily Henne (seventh | 4:59.39) and Leah Kleekamp (ninth | 5:05.44) recorded four top-10 finishes in the women's mile
- Lemngole's mark is good for sixth on the all-time top-10 in program history
- In the men's mile, the group of Arthur Graham (first | 4:08.75), Jace Jones (second | 4:14.47), Knox Exton (third | 4:15.68) and Brady Barton (fourth | 4:16.21) swept the first-four
- Milan Fields finished first in the women's 60-meter dash (7.34)
- Jekovan Rhetta finished second in the men's 60-meter dash (6.69)
- In the women's 800-meter dash, the trio of Cami Crouch (second | 2:14.97), Sarah Tillotson (fourth | 2:15.53) and Gracie Walker (10th | 2:24.34) returned three top-10 finishes.
- In the men's 800-meter dash, Kai Crawford (1:53.78) gave the Tide a third-place finish
- Ariike Elijah (24.40) finished third in the women's 200-meter dash
- Rhetta (third | 21.74) and Antonio Crisco (ninth | 21.89) finished with a pair of top-10 finishes in the men's 200-meter dash
- In the men's 3000-meter, Ethan Lemons (first | 8:16.09) and Carter Waters (third | 8:19.40) would finish with a pair of top-three finishes.
- In the women's 4x400-meter relay, the team of Margaret Conteh, Milan Fields, Sarah Tillotson and Gracie Walker finished seventh (3:59.39) in the women's 4x400 meter relay, giving the Tide another top-10 finish
- The Tide concluded with a pair of top-five finishes in the men's 4x400-meter relay, with the squad of Hasani Barr, Samuel Ogazi, Oussama El Bouchayby and Khaleb McRae (3:14.62) taking the pennant
- The group of Clayton Elder, Antonio Crisco, Tyler Davis and Jonathan Martin (3:19.25) finished third
Up Next
- Alabama will travel to Clemson, S.C. next weekend, Jan. 26-27 competing in the Bob Pollock Invitational in the two-day event
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Players Mentioned
