TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama athletics returns to Columbia after a weekend off, competing at the South Carolina Invitational Friday and Saturday within the Carolina Indoor Track and Field Complex.
The two-day meeting will see Crimson Tide compete against 10 programs, with five coming from the Southeast Conference. Alabama will face opponents of the Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Ole Miss and South Carolina conference, as well as non-conference opponents of Alabama State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Furman and North Carolina A&T.
The Alabama team will compete throughout the second day of the competition with the men’s weightlift starting at 10am CT. The last event in which Alabama will participate will be the women’s 4×400 meter relay, taking off at 4:45 pm CT. Jacob Spotswood will open the weekend on Friday, competing in the heptathlon at 8:45 am CT.
Last Time
- Alabama heads to its second meeting in Columbia and the third meeting of the season after competing in the Carolina Challenge two weeks ago
- The teams’ achievements in the Carolina Challenge were highlighted by two facility records, a handful of the country’s top ten and seven first places.
- Mercy Chelangat smashed the old 16: 50.52 facility record with a time of 15: 52.19 in the 5,000-meter women’s race securing the gold medal
- Alabama took home two silver medals at the weight throw, with Kieran McKeag (20.13m) representing for men and Taylor Gorum (18.57m) for women
- The Tide was 1-2 in a female shot put with Cherisse Murray (16.24m) finishing first and Nickolette Dunbar (15.86m) following suit
- Isaac Odugbesan obtained his first victory of the season with a 18.46 m throw in the male throw, as a teammate Nathan Cooper (15.75m) placed in fifth place
- For the second weekend in a row, Ryan Lipe (17-03.00 / 5.26m) won the male pole vault with the fewest attempts
- Eliud Kipsang crossed for the victory of the first place in the male mile with a national time in the top 10 of 4: 02.86
- Tamara Clark obtained two victories on the day with a victory in the 60m (7.28) and 200m (22.90) women
Continuing the cross country season
- Esther Gitahi will be the only traveler to the Florida State Winter Cross Country Classic this weekend
- After a solid performance in the cross country season in the fall, Gitahi will compete in the 8,000-meter CT 8-foot women’s grenade race at the Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
- Gitahi ended the fall season with fifth place in the SEC Championship, recording a 6k time of 20: 10.50
- The female runner was never out of the top 10 during the fall, with a fourth place in the 6k race at the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic and a 10º place in the 5 km race at the Florida State Invitational
During the 2021 athletics season, fans will not be permitted at South Carolina athletics events. Under SEC policy, no unaccompanied athlete will participate in any competition during the season. In addition, athletes, coaches, officials and officials will adhere to distance and social masking measures.
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