The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Travel North for Vanderbilt Invitational
1/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB track and field team takes part in its first meet outside of Birmingham this weekend when the Blazers travel to Nashville, Tenn., to compete at the Vanderbilt Invitational.
The meet features strong competition throughout the southeast and includes: Belmont, Furman, Georgia Tech, Lipscomb, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, NC State, Samford, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Southern Miss, Tennessee, Texas State, UAB, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky.
Competition begins Friday at 4 p.m. with the high jump and weight through and concludes at 8:50 p.m. with the men’s 5000 meters. The meet resumes Saturday at 11 a.m. with the shot put and wraps up at 5:10 p.m. with the men’s 4x400 meter relay.
“We hope this meet will be an opportunity for us to really ramp up our performances as we prepare for the conference championships,” UAB head coach Kurt Thomas said. “This is a high caliber meet and our team really needs to step up. Our staff is expecting our team to rise to the occasion.”
Blazer senior distance runner Lucy Crookes is expected to be one of the top competitors in the 3000 meters. Crookes recently won the mile run at the Vulcan Invitational with a time of 4:54.26.
Fellow senior Jenna Wesley has proven to be one of the Blazers’ top middle distance runners, finishing 10th in the 800 meters earlier this season at the UAB Blazer Invitational with a mark of 2:16.57.
“Lucy and Jenna have been training well and we are excited to see them perform, Thomas added.”
In field events, freshman Aisha Nelson has turned in two top-10 finishes in the high jump thus far this season. The Kingston, Jamaica, native placed ninth at the Vulcan Invitational (5-04.50) and 10th at the Birmingham Southern Icebreaker (5-05.00).
Fans can follow all the action by clicking HERE for live results.
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