Alabama claims multiple victories at home

Alabama claims multiple victories at home
IN SPORTS, TOP NEWS, TRACK & FIELD, TRACK & FIELD (M), TRACK & FIELD (W) / BY DANIELLE WALKER / ON APRIL 7, 2014 AT 12:00 AM /
The University of Alabama track and field team won 18 events at the Crimson Tide Invitational at the Sam Bailey Track and Field Stadium on Saturday.

The men took 11 victories, winning the meet with an overall team score of 165 points. The women had seven wins and 125 points to earn the second place.

The all-day event hosted teams from Indiana, Missouri, Florida State, Texas-Arlington, Louisville, Penn State and Oklahoma.

“We had really great focus and a very competitive nature,” Alabama coach Dan Waters said. “The way we competed and the fact that we won races shows us that we’re on the right track and brought the right focus, energy and mindset into the meet this weekend.”

(See also “Track and Field team looks to improve scores“)

The men earned victories in the hammer throw, discus, long jump, shotput, high jump, 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 100-meter dash, 1500-meter run, 4×100-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay.

The women won in the hammer throw, shotput, long jump, triple jump, 100-meter dash, 800-meter run and the 4×100-meter relay.

In the men’s 4×100-meter relay, seniors Alex Sanders, Diondre Batson, Akeem Haynes and sophomore Dwight Davis set a new meet and stadium record with a time of 38.91.

(See also “Crimson Tide track and field, cross-country to compete in Paul Short Invitational“)

Batson also set a new meet and personal record for the 200-meter dash, clinching the victory with a time of 20.49. Batson ran into a headwind of 0.4 meters per second.

While Batson said he was happy with his season-opener win, he knows his time could have been better had there not been a headwind. Many other athletes faced the cooler temperatures that came late in the afternoon. Batson said athletes have to do extra warm ups and drills to keep their bodies warm and ready for their races.

“Imagine you are at a beach and there is a breeze, and you are like, ‘Oh that feels good,’ but as soon as the sun goes down that breeze doesn’t feel too good,” Batson said. “The weather plays a big part, especially in the sprints.”

The Crimson Tide finished first and second in discus, with Hayden Reed throwing a lifetime best of 59.08 meters and Joe Williams throwing for 54.83 meters. Senior Yanique Malcolm earned the women 10 points by winning the women’s 800-meter with a time of 2:06.83. Junior Ramona Burchell also earned a first-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.42.

Next weekend, the Crimson Tide will host the Border Clash, racing teams from across Mississippi and Alabama.

Courtesy Alabama

Keith Conning: Diondre Batson (Laguna Creek HS, Elk Grove 2010; American River College, Sacramento 2012; Alabama 2014)