Some would say that in Track and Field, there is no real home field advantage. The No. 5 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide would have to disagree, as it put on a strong showing at home against Nebraska, Southern Miss, Florida State and Mississippi State, among others, during the Crimson Tide Invitational.

 

Thursday, April 11th: The Tide competed in 3 events, the Hammer Throw, the 1500M invite and the 5000M invite.

Hammer Throws- Redshirt freshman Bobby Colantonio stole the show with a 67.82-meter launch in the hammer throw on his first attempt, which beat his previous personal best and gave him first place in the event.

1500M Invite-  Senior Alfred Chelanga placed 6th in the 1500M invite, running 3:51.93.

 

Friday, April 12th:

Discus Throw- Senior Kord Ferguson started the Tide off right in the discus throw, setting the bar high with a 57.91M toss on his first attempt. After fouling on his next four tries, he set a new season high with a 60.66M throw, which secured him the number one spot.

 

Shot Put- Kord was not done breaking records just yet though, as he dominated the competition yet again in the shot put with a seasonal high and new meet record of 19.63 M. The future of Alabama field tossing is bright as freshman Santiago Basso placed 3rd with an 18.32M throw.

 

High Jump- Indoor high jump national champion Shelby McEwen showed that it doesn’t matter if he is indoor or outdoor, he placed 1st, as he was the only competitor to attempt and complete a 7’3.25 ft (2.22M) jump for the day.

 

Javelin Throw- Freshman Ashton Domingue placed 4th in the event with a 66.03-meter throw.

 

Men’s 400M- Skyler Bowden made the most of his final meet in Tuscaloosa, finishing strong with a 45.91-second run, finishing .01 seconds sooner than his former Alabama teammate, and current Adidas pro, Jereem Richards. His 45.91 second run established a new meet record and a new personal best. Freshman Gabriel Serrano also set a new personal best, finishing in 50.41 seconds.

 

Men’s Pole Vault- Wil Herscher set a new meet record by attempting and successfully completing a 17’0.75 ft (5.20 M) vault. He took first and junior Henry Barrett finished in 4th place after completing a 15’11 ft (4.85M) vault.

 

Men’s Triple Jump- Junior Michael Wiggins finished 5th place with a 14.85 meter jump.

 

Men’s 800M- Several Alabama athletes competed in this event, and many of them were able to set new personal and/or seasonal bests. Drew Williams set a new personal best with a 1:51.67 second sprint and placed 5th, Mark Shannon finished 9th and set a new seasonal best with a 1:54.04 second finish, Connor Ferrentino set a new season high with a finish in 1:54.82 seconds, and Clay Austell also set a new season high, finishing in 1:55.64 seconds. Octopias Ndiwa did not set a seasonal high, but he did finish in 8th with a run in 1:53.56 seconds.

 

Men’s 200M Dash- Keitavious Walter finished in 2nd place with a 20.49-second finish.

 

Men’s 3000M Steeplechase- Elliott Miller finished the steeplechase in 3rd place with a 9: 49.99-second finish.

 

Men’s 4x400M- An Alabama team consisting of Gabriel Serrano, Mark Shannon, Octopias Ndiwa and Andrew Powell finished in 6th place, with the team finishing in 3:19.36 seconds. Serrano and Shannon finished their 800M stretch in 1:40.27 seconds, Ndiwa finished his 400M stretch in 48.72 seconds and Powell wrapped up the meet and finished his 400M in 50.39 seconds.

 

The Alabama Men’s Track and Field Team outright won 6 events during the invitation and had 13 5th or better finishes. The Tide will split this upcoming weekend, sending some members of the team to compete in the War Eagle Invitational in Auburn and sending the others to the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California on April 19.

 

(Photo Courtesy The Crimson White)