AUSTIN, Texas – The Alabama men’s track and field team posted its third top-10 NCAA Outdoor Championships finish in a row and the 10th in school history Friday night at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus. The Crimson Tide finished 10th after scoring 25 points over the two days of competition.
“I’m super proud of the way the guys went out there tonight and scrapped for every point,” UA head coach Dan Waters said. “They did what they had to do finish in the top-10 and keep our streak going. To finish in the top-10 the last six NCAA Championships in a row is an amazing feat and a testament to the hard work, dedication and drive of our athletes, coaches and staff.”
Tonight’s national finish marked the first time in school history that the men have placed in the top-10 at the outdoor championships three years in a row. Overall, the Tide men have finished in the top 10 the last six NCAA Championships in a row between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Finishing 10th in the outdoor standings comes on the heels of the UA men’s eighth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, marking the fifth time in school history the Tide men have posted top-10 finishes both indoors and outdoors in the same season and the third year in a row.
Senior Gilbert Kigen led the way for the Tide, taking second in the 10,000 meters on Wednesday before snagging a crucial fourth-place finish in the 5,000 meters, the championships’ next-to-last event, on Friday. Earlier in the evening senior Kord Ferguson used a career-best throw to post a career-best national finish in the discus, taking third. Junior Shelby McEwen added to the Tide’s point total with a third-place finish of his own in the high jump.
“Gilbert rans so tough all week, Kord finished out his Alabama career with a PR and Shelby just keeps churning out great performances,” Waters said. “Tonight was just another example of this team pulling together and getting it done.”
The Crimson Tide women, who have nine-points heading into Saturday’s final day of competition, will compete in the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays, the high jump and the 5,000 meters and will be looking for a top-10 finish of their own.
