EUGENE, Ore. – The University of Alabama men’s track and field team received All-America performances in high jump, triple jump, shot put and 110-meter hurdles to finish in a tie for fifth in the nation at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Friday in Eugene, Ore.
Alabama junior Shelby McEwen finished second in high jump, junior Kord Ferguson finished fourth in discus, senior Ruebin Walters finished sixth in 110-meter hurdles and freshman Christian Edwards finished sixth in triple jump to all earn All-America accolades.
Those finishes on the final night of men’s competition, coupled with 14 team points scored in the hammer throw by Daniel Haugh and the 10,000 meters by Vincent Kiprop and Gilbert Kigen on Wednesday, placed Alabama into a tie for fifth place in the final team standings with Texas Tech. It was the third time the Alabama men have finished among the top five nationally outdoors. Alabama finished third in 1983 and fourth in 1986.
“We had some spectacular performances this week and everyone competed incredibly hard,” Alabama coach Dan Waters said. “It came down to centimeters and thousandths of a second for a trophy, so I’m very proud of our guys. They competed hard throughout the year. I can’t say enough about their commitment and what they were able to accomplish.”
Georgia won the national team championship with 52 points, followed by Florida (42), Houston (35), USC (34) and, tied at fifth, Alabama and Texas Tech (33).
McEwen, who finished as the national runner-up indoors this season, finished second in the high jump with a clearance of 7-3, The only other time Alabama has finished among the top two in that event was in 1985 by Thomas McCants.
“It was a great day today,” McEwen said. “I didn’t let the weather get to me and we all went out and just had fun competing against each other. It feels great to finish in the top two again. I’m going to keep improving and working hard to finish one spot higher.”
Ferguson finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 191-8 which came on his first attempt of the competition. Walters finished sixth in the 110-meter hurdles in 13.95 to earn first-team All-America honors for the second year in a row. Edwards finished sixth in the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 53-8 ½ on his final jump of the competition.
UA’s 4×100 women’s relay team earn All-America honors
EUGENE, Ore. – The University of Alabama women’s 4×100-meter relay team posted an All-American finish Saturday on the final day of women’s competition at the 2018 NCAA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
The 4×200-meter relay team of freshmen Daija Lampkin, Tamara Clark and Demi Washington as well as sophomore Symone Darius finished sixth in 44.05 on a cold, rain-soaked Saturday at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. The race caps a 2018.
“I was very proud of the way the 4×100 ran today,” Alabama coach Dan Waters said. “We ran three freshmen and a sophomore so that just speaks highly of where we’re going to be in the future. I think that’s one of the things we learned this week with our women’s team.”
In field events Saturday, junior Portious Warren (147-11) finished 19th in discus while freshman Jaimie Robinson (42-2 ¾) and junior Tamara Moncrieffe (40-11 ¾) finished 20th and 23rd, respectively, in the triple jump.
Alabama finished 46th in the final women’s team standings with three points.
