BATON ROUGE, La. – Distance runner Victor Kiprop closed the opening day of the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships in style for the Alabama track and field program, striking gold in the men’s 10,000-meter run (29:58.43). It’s now the second-straight season that Kiprop has won the individual, event title and the sixth-straight season that an Alabama runner has won the event.
Bobby Colantonio Jr. kick-started the meet for the Crimson Tide with a bronze-medal finish in the men’s hammer throw (69.96m | 229-06). In his SEC outdoor curtain call, the Barrington, R.I., native secured the Crimson Tide’s first medal of the day with his fifth throw out of six attempts.
Chelsea Igberaese (65.10m | 213-07) and Samantha Kunza (63.19m | 207-03) earned Alabama’s first points of the meet for the women’s program with fourth-and-sixth-place finishes, respectively, in the women’s hammer. Igberaese also recorded a PR en route to her top-five placement.
Once the sun went down on the opening day, the track athletes arrived. However, just as Tarsis Orogot and Jonathan Martin were set to run in the second heat of the men’s 200-meter prelims, the meet was briefly suspended due to lightning in the area. Half an hour later, once the delay was over, Orogot responded by winning the heat via a PR-breaking performance (20.18) to secure his spot in Saturday night’s final.
Chris Robinson (49.25) and Corde Long (49.32) followed suit, claiming the top-two spots in the opening, preliminary heat of the men’s 400-meter hurdles, effectively claiming their spots in the event final on Saturday night.
Alabama closed the first day with the men in second place in the team standings with 17 points, while the women’s squad sits in fifth with 12 points.
Crimson Tide Top Finishes
- Bobby Colantonio Jr.’s 69.96-meter (229-06), bronze-medal throw secured the Tide its first podium finish of the three-day meet
- Alabama’s Chelsea Igberaese (65.10m | 213-07) and Samantha Kunza (63.19m | 207-03) finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the women’s hammer to earn the Tide’s first points on the women’s side
- After a 30-minute…
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