The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Distance Runners Lead the Way for UAB after Day One of the Vanderbilt Invitational
1/18/2019 10:39:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM – Competing in just five events on day one of the Vanderbilt Invitational, the UAB track and field team turned in some solid results, especially in the 5,000 meter run.
Senior Emily Drouin easily took home the victory in the 5,000 with a new PR of 16:51.66, placing her just outside the top 5 all-time in UAB history. She did however smash her previous career best in the event which was 17:39.70
Laura Thompson made her debut in the 5K, finishing 15th overall with a time of 18:00.47. The freshman set a new lifetime best in the event. Meanwhile, Katie Nelson placed ninth in the 5,000 meter, running it in a time of 17:36.14.
With most of the team in Nashville, a small group of Blazers stayed back in Birmingham to compete in the Samford Multi and Samford Invitational. Among them was Brittany Floyd who competed in the pentathlon.
Floyd put together a great event, finishing fifth overall with 3,577 points and had two top four finishes across the five events. She currently ranks 15th nationally in the pentathlon. Floyd is one of three sophomores ranked in the top 25 and is the only competitor from a Conference USA school in the top 25.
Track Side with Head Coach Kurt Thomas:
"We had some ups and downs today," Thomas said. "Our field event athletes competed much better than last week but struggled with some technical changes. Erin Long really improved today in the Long Jump. Emily ran very well today, dropping a 16:51 was impressive and she has set herself up for faster races in the near future. Katie Nelson ran well in her first 5k for us and Laura Thompson had a lifetime best and was impressive in her freshman 5k debut. It's still very early in the weekend and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow"
Up Next:
The team will compete in the second day of the Vanderbilt Invitational on Saturday January, 19.
For more information on UAB track and field, visit uabsports.com or follow along on Twitter and Instagram at (UAB_TF_XC).
Senior Emily Drouin easily took home the victory in the 5,000 with a new PR of 16:51.66, placing her just outside the top 5 all-time in UAB history. She did however smash her previous career best in the event which was 17:39.70
Laura Thompson made her debut in the 5K, finishing 15th overall with a time of 18:00.47. The freshman set a new lifetime best in the event. Meanwhile, Katie Nelson placed ninth in the 5,000 meter, running it in a time of 17:36.14.
With most of the team in Nashville, a small group of Blazers stayed back in Birmingham to compete in the Samford Multi and Samford Invitational. Among them was Brittany Floyd who competed in the pentathlon.
Floyd put together a great event, finishing fifth overall with 3,577 points and had two top four finishes across the five events. She currently ranks 15th nationally in the pentathlon. Floyd is one of three sophomores ranked in the top 25 and is the only competitor from a Conference USA school in the top 25.
Track Side with Head Coach Kurt Thomas:
"We had some ups and downs today," Thomas said. "Our field event athletes competed much better than last week but struggled with some technical changes. Erin Long really improved today in the Long Jump. Emily ran very well today, dropping a 16:51 was impressive and she has set herself up for faster races in the near future. Katie Nelson ran well in her first 5k for us and Laura Thompson had a lifetime best and was impressive in her freshman 5k debut. It's still very early in the weekend and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow"
Up Next:
The team will compete in the second day of the Vanderbilt Invitational on Saturday January, 19.
For more information on UAB track and field, visit uabsports.com or follow along on Twitter and Instagram at (UAB_TF_XC).
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
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