A trio of Alabama track and field athletes earned All-America honors on the first day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Christopher Crawford and Trevor Gunzell both finished among the top 15 in the men’s shot put. Crawford placed 12th with a throw of 18.94 meters (62-1.75), while Gunzell took 14th at 18.91 meters (62-0.50). Both will compete again on Friday in the men’s discus final, along with teammate Christopher Young.
On the track, Dismus Lokira made his NCAA Championships debut by finishing 11th in the men’s 10,000 meters with a time of 29:13.51.
In preliminary events, Alabama advanced to event finals in both the men’s 400 meters and the 4×400-meter relay. Samuel Ogazi ran a time of 44.77 seconds, which was the fastest in all semifinal heats for the 400 meters. He later joined Donald Chiyangwa, Peter Diebold, and Oussama El Bouchayby for a second-place finish in their heat of the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:03.58.
Women’s competition begins Thursday, highlighted by Doris Lemngole, who is returning as the reigning steeplechase national champion. Lemngole will compete in her semifinal heat at 6:38 p.m. CT as part of an evening that includes six total events for Alabama women—three on track and three field events.
The schedule for Thursday includes Doris Lemngole in the steeplechase semifinals; Megan Albamonti in javelin; Mariia Horielova in long jump; Treneese Hamilton and Mye’Joi Williams in shot put; Precious Nzeakor in the 200m semifinals; and Brenda Tuwei competing in the women’s 10,000 meters final.
