May 28, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama men's track and field team will head to the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The meet will begin on Friday, May 30 at John McDonnell Field. The first event for the Crimson Tide will be the javelin at 2:15 p.m. with the 4x100 meter relay at 3:10 p.m. slated as the first track event.

SEC Championship Recap: The Alabama men's team finished ninth at the 2008 SEC Championships. Despite the finish, some stellar individual performances were turned in. Junior Tyson David was the highlight of the meet for the Crimson Tide. David won the 10,000-meter SEC title with a record time of 28:23.01. He just missed winning the 5,000-meter by .63 of a second, placing second with a time of 13:44.81.

Scouting the Competition: Familiar faces will be at the NCAA Mideast Regional as all six teams that are ranked in the top 25 reside in the SEC. LSU checks in at No. 1 while Auburn is No. 8, SEC champion Arkansas is at No. 9 and Tennessee is ranked No. 10. Kentucky checks in at No. 17 and Mississippi State rounds out the top 25 at No. 25.

Crimson Tide in the Top-10 at the Regional: Alabama will send a contingency of 10 athletes to compete in Fayetteville, Ark. this weekend. Sophomore Emmanuel Bor checks in with the sixth fastest time in the region in the 1500 with a 3:42.02. In the steeplechase Augustus Maiyo has the top qualifying time with an 8:35.36. Tyson David ranks third on the performance list in the 5000 meters with a time of 13:44.81 while Bor is fifth with a 13:45.84.

Sophomore Tim Grier checks in with the second fastest 400 hurdles time with a 50.66. Grier is 10th in the long jump with a leap of 25-05.25. The 4x100 relay team of Jontavius Knight, David Chaplin, Brandon Spradley and Michael Cooley come into the meet with the 10th fastest time of 40.21.

David Looks to Continue Stellar 2008: Junior Tyson David may have just finished his first semester at the University of Alabama but in that short time the Kenya native has etched his name in the Crimson Tide record books. At the SEC Championships David shattered the SEC and school 10,000 meter record with time of 28:23.01, breaking the old record held by Olympian Alistair Cragg by nearly 20 seconds. David also ran the fourth fastest 5000 in school history with a runner-up finish at the SEC meet with a time of 13:44.81. Earlier this season the junior ran the eighth fastest 1500 in school history with a time of 3:44.26.

Maiyo Aims to Repeat in the Steeple: Senior Augustus Maiyo looks to repeat as the NCAA Mideast champion in the steeplechase as the 2006 All-American in the event enters with the top time. Maiyo won the event last season in Missouri with a Mideast Regional record time of 8:35.12. The Kenyan enters this weekend with a time of 8:35.36. Maiyo has run the third fastest time in school history with his finish last season at the regional.

Alabama Rookies: Three of the top athletes wearing a Crimson Tide uniform this weekend are doing so for the first time at the NCAA Regional meet. Tyson David, a JUCO transfer from Central Arizona just finished his first semester at the Capstone. David is the SEC champion and record holder in the 10,000 meters and will look to also move onto the NCAA Championships in the 5000 meters. Sophomore Tim Grier, a transfer from Nebraska enters the meet with the second fastest 400 hurdle time (50.66) and the 10th best long jump (25-05.25), both personal bests. Freshman Trevor Denkers heads to Fayetteville with the 15th best mark in the region in the javelin with a throw of 210-06. That throw is the fifth best mark in school history.

Next Time Out: Alabama will next hit the oval when it heads to the NCAA Championships. The meet is scheduled to begin on June 11 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.