Campbell Advances to NCAA Track & Field Championships
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –
University of Alabama senior Tyler Campbell cleared 7-2.25 in the men’s
high jump to qualify for the NCAA Championships on the final day of the
NCAA East Region Preliminary Round. With his effort, he became the
fifth Crimson Tide competitor to qualify for the championships in Des
Moines, Iowa, June 6-9. Campbell’s jump matched his season
best and was the highest clearance of the day as the competition ended
once 12 competitors remained in the field. The top 12 finishers in each
event at the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round automatically advance
to the NCAA Championships along with the top 12 from the West Region. Campbell
will be joined in Des Moines by Kamal Fuller in the men’s high jump,
Alexis Paine in the women’s pole vault, and Krystle Schade in the
women’s high jump who qualified during the first two days of the
regional. Kaylon Eppinger will also compete in Des Moines in the
women’s heptathlon as her personal best score of 5,560 at the SEC
Championships automatically qualified her for the event. “We
had a lot of good things happen this weekend with personal bests and
five people advancing to the national championships,” UA head coach Dan
Waters said. “I thought everyone competed extremely hard and was at, or
better than their personal best. I’m very pleased with the way we
approached the meet and the team’s focus and dedication. That’s how
you’ve got to get through these types of qualifying rounds.” The
Tide also had competitors in three other events on Saturday that just
missed advancing to the championships. Amethyst Holmes and Angelica
Howard finished 20th and 25th, respectively in the women’s hammer
throw. Chloe Hetherton finished 36th in the women’s triple jump and
Eppinger was 24th in the quarterfinals of the women’s 100-meter
hurdles. Earlier in qualifying she ran a personal best 13.49 in the
event. The Tide’s five qualifiers with join the other
competitors that qualified from the East and West Regions at Drake
Stadium with Paine and Fuller competing first for the Tide in their
events on June 6. UA’s competitors will be familiar with the venue as
they competed in Drake Stadium earlier this season at the Drake Relays. “The
simple and consistent message we’ve been telling them all year is about
becoming a competitor and being focused on getting the job done,
whether it be advancing or scoring points,” Waters said of the team’s
mindset heading into the NCAA Championships. “That’s what we got out of
the last two meets and that’s what we’ll continue to bring into the
national meet in two weeks.”
|