The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Thursday, January 16
Birmingham, Ala. / Birmingham Crossplex
UAB
at
Samford
UAB Splits Weekend at Samford Invite and Vanderbilt Invitational
1/15/2020 2:58:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB track and field team is set to compete in a pair of away meets through the weekend, staying close to home for the first day of the Samford Invite on Thursday and heading to Nashville for the Vanderbilt Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
The Samford Invite is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with the pentathlon in the Birmingham CrossPlex. The Vanderbilt Invitational will be held at the Vanderbilt Student Rec Center, beginning at 4 p.m. with the high jump on Friday and at 10 a.m. with the women's 3,000m on Saturday. Junior Brittany Floyd, sophomores Miren Ederra, Madison Kirkwood and Laci Turner along with freshman Sarah Guthrie will be the lone Blazers competing in the meet.
"We're looking forward to seeing the pentathletes compete tomorrow. They have worked so hard and improved over the course of the fall that now we get to see them put five events together and post some solid scores," said coach Kurt Thomas. "This is an event we compete in at the C-USA Championships, so this competition is important to see where we'll stack up in February at those championships. Brittany has the chance to have a big day. We're excited to see Miren compete in her first pent for UAB. Laci, Madison and Sarah have each gotten better, so we want to cheer them on to a big day."
The Vanderbilt Invitational features No. 23 Miami, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Indiana and host Vanderbilt along with Conference USA opponents LA Tech and Middle Tennessee, among others. The Samford Invite field has not been finalized
"This is another big test for us. The competition at this meet is going to be bigger and better, so we need to be ready for that challenge," said Thomas. "We competed well last week at our home meet, and we need to come out and compete hard. We're excited to see the DMR race Friday night, and Laura Thompson is ready for a good 5k. We have some good opportunities to be in the faster heats in the 800m and 400m and mile, so it'll be a good challenge for Beth (Evans), Marielle (Lewis), Lisa (Petkov), Karri (Green) and Ebony (Tolliver). We also have good athletes racing in the early heats to build depth to our program. The hurdlers have a chance to run fast against great competition. This is why we're here and why we compete, for meets like this."
The Blazers most recently competed in the home-hosted Blazer and Vulcan Invitationals, where junior Anna Massa claimed gold and earned Conference USA Female Field Athlete of the Week for her 3.95-meter jump in the pole vault. The jump moved Massa into second in program history, also placing her atop the conference and tied for 17th nationally. UAB finished the weekend with five medals and 13 top-10 finishes.
Next up, the Blazers will return home to host the Green and Gold Invitational on Jan. 24-25 at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Meet information and coverage for each will be provided on the UAB track and field schedule page.
For more information on the UAB track and field team, follow @UAB_TF_XC on Twitter and Instagram.
The Samford Invite is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with the pentathlon in the Birmingham CrossPlex. The Vanderbilt Invitational will be held at the Vanderbilt Student Rec Center, beginning at 4 p.m. with the high jump on Friday and at 10 a.m. with the women's 3,000m on Saturday. Junior Brittany Floyd, sophomores Miren Ederra, Madison Kirkwood and Laci Turner along with freshman Sarah Guthrie will be the lone Blazers competing in the meet.
"We're looking forward to seeing the pentathletes compete tomorrow. They have worked so hard and improved over the course of the fall that now we get to see them put five events together and post some solid scores," said coach Kurt Thomas. "This is an event we compete in at the C-USA Championships, so this competition is important to see where we'll stack up in February at those championships. Brittany has the chance to have a big day. We're excited to see Miren compete in her first pent for UAB. Laci, Madison and Sarah have each gotten better, so we want to cheer them on to a big day."
The Vanderbilt Invitational features No. 23 Miami, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Indiana and host Vanderbilt along with Conference USA opponents LA Tech and Middle Tennessee, among others. The Samford Invite field has not been finalized
"This is another big test for us. The competition at this meet is going to be bigger and better, so we need to be ready for that challenge," said Thomas. "We competed well last week at our home meet, and we need to come out and compete hard. We're excited to see the DMR race Friday night, and Laura Thompson is ready for a good 5k. We have some good opportunities to be in the faster heats in the 800m and 400m and mile, so it'll be a good challenge for Beth (Evans), Marielle (Lewis), Lisa (Petkov), Karri (Green) and Ebony (Tolliver). We also have good athletes racing in the early heats to build depth to our program. The hurdlers have a chance to run fast against great competition. This is why we're here and why we compete, for meets like this."
The Blazers most recently competed in the home-hosted Blazer and Vulcan Invitationals, where junior Anna Massa claimed gold and earned Conference USA Female Field Athlete of the Week for her 3.95-meter jump in the pole vault. The jump moved Massa into second in program history, also placing her atop the conference and tied for 17th nationally. UAB finished the weekend with five medals and 13 top-10 finishes.
Next up, the Blazers will return home to host the Green and Gold Invitational on Jan. 24-25 at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Meet information and coverage for each will be provided on the UAB track and field schedule page.
For more information on the UAB track and field team, follow @UAB_TF_XC on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
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