NASHVILLE, Tenn. – University of Alabama junior Alex Amankwah broke the school record in the men’s 800 meters while running the fastest time by a collegian this season, and defending NCAA champion Remona Burchell impressed while winning the 60-meter dash in her 2015 debut to lead the Crimson Tide on a hugely successful Saturday at the Vanderbilt Indoor Invitational.
Amankwah broke an 11-year-old Crimson Tide record set in 2004 by Peter Etoot in dominating the field in the men’s 800, crossing the line in 1 minute, 46.86 seconds, .04 faster than Etoot’s previous standard of 1:46.90.
Burchell twice broke the facility record in the women’s 60, running two of the 10 fastest times in Alabama history with a 7.28 in the preliminary heats and a winning 7.25 in the final, a time that ranks sixth in Alabama history.
Crimson Tide athletes compiled four event victories (two men’s and two women’s) while producing nine performances (six women’s, three men’s) that rank in the school’s all-time top 10 in seven events (five women’s. two men’s) on an impressive day by the Alabama at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility. Alabama picked up individual victories in the women’s 60-meter dash, the women’s 400 meters, the men’s 60-meter hurdles, and the men’s 800 meters.
“This was a tip-top day for us, as we had several excellent performances by several of our people,” said head coach Dan Waters.
“I can’t say enough about Alex Amankwah, Remona Burchell, Cameron Hudson, Jacopo Lahbi, Tony Brown . . . and several others today. We had several people punch their tickets to the NCAA meet today and, for this early in the season, that’s a big deal. We still need to work on some things regarding the overall competitive toughness of our team. But today was a big day for us.”
800 Meters – Crimson Tide junior Alex Amankwah ran the fastest 800-meter race by a collegian thus far in 2015, setting an 11-year-old school record by .04 and smashing the facility record by more than 2.5 seconds in an impressive victory in the men’s 800, breaking the tape in 1:46.86. The performance broke the old Alabama indoor 800 record of 1:46.90 set by Peter Etoot in 2004.
Running in the first of three heats of the final, Amankwah outpaced the field .77 of a second ahead of runner-up Corey Leslie (unattached). Tide sophomore Jacopo Lahbi was third in 1:48.28, the no. 2 time in the NCAA this season and no. 4 on the all-time Crimson Tide list.
Vanderbilt Indoor Invitational
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Alabama Results
MEN
60 Meters (Final) – 2. Cameron Hudson, 6.73; 6. Tony Brown, 6.84; 8. Ahmed Ali. 7.00.
60 Meters (Prelims) – (Heat 2) 1. Cameron Hudson, 6.79 (Q); 2. Tony Brown, 6.82 (Q). (Heat 3) 1. Ahmed Ali, 6.92 (Q); 2. Tadashi Pinder, 6.94; 3. Bradley Sylve, 6.95.
60-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) – (Heat 3) 1. Tony Brown, 8.01.
60-Meter Hurdles (Final) – 1. Tony Brown, 7.89.
200 Meters – 11. Tadashi Pinder, 21.96.
400 Meters – 2. Quincy Smith, 47.99; 9. Nick Efkamp, 49.19; 16. Bryan Arthur, 50.59; 19. Nathan Nammour, 50.93.
800 Meters – 1. Alex Amankwah, 1:46.86#*; 3. Jacopo Lahbi, 1:48.28*; 12. Andrew Harris, 1:53.19.
Mile – 13. Payton Ballard, 4:12.70; 20. Jeff Edmondson, 4:20.34; 24. Connor Ferrentino, 4:25.78.
Long Jump – 2. Cameron Hudson, 25-1 1/4 (7.65m); 10. Josh McCullan, 23-3 1/2 (7.10m); 19. Anthony Averett, 23-1 (6.73m).
Shot Put – 2. Kyle Felpel, 60-0 1/2 (18.30m); 5. Hayden Reed, 56-2 (17.12m); 8. Nathan Karr, 53-11 1/4 (16.44m); 10.Joe Williams, 52-4 1/2 (15.96m).
4×400-Meter Relay – 2. (Quincy Smith, Alex Amankwah, Marlon Humphrey, Nick Efkamp), 3:09.88.
#-Alabama school record
*-facility record
Performances Ranking in the All-Time Alabama Top 10
Men
60-Meter Hurdles – 7.89, Tony Brown (7th).
800 Meters – 1:46.86, Alex Amankwah (1st); 1:48.28, Jacopo Lahbi (4th).
Credit: Rolltide.com
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