May 2, 2008

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama men's and women's track teams will compete in a final tune-up for the SEC Championships by participating at the Mississippi Open Saturday afternoon, May 3, in Oxford. The one-day event will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Ole Miss Track and Field Complex.

Saturday's meet will feature some of the top teams from the region including individuals from Florida, Mississippi State, Southern Mississippi, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Jackson State and Memphis, among others.

The Alabama men wrapped up the Drake Relays last week with more impressive times as they took one step closer to the SEC Championships. In the relay portion of the meet, the Crimson Tide placed sixth overall in the 4x100 while posting the fifth-fastest time of the meet with a time of 40.72.

The Tide's 4x1,600 relay squad placed seventh overall with a time of 17:03.86. Individually, Paul Guevara finished fifth in the 10,000 meters with a time of 31:16.90. Joe Purpura finished 11th overall with a 31:45.76. Tim Grier once again impressed in the 400 hurdles by finishing fourth overall with a time of 51.03

The Alabama women also competed at Drake. In the relay portion of the meet the Crimson Tide placed fifth in the 4x100 relay with a time of 45.85. The Tide earned a seventh-place finish in the 4x200 with a time of 1:40.14.

Individually, Betty Rotich placed second in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:41.26. In the 400 hurdles, Talaya Owens broke the 60-second mark with a time of 59.91 to finish sixth.

Next week, the teams will train for the SEC Championships, slated to begin on Thursday, May 15, at the Hutsell-Rosen Track on the Auburn campus.