Jan. 14, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Auburn track and field took home two individual titles and had multiple strong performances in other events in the Tigers' first indoor meet of the season on Saturday at the new Birmingham Crossplex.
"The first competition of the season was what we expected," Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. "We were able to get out and compete and see where we are. I thought things went pretty well. This was our first meet in Birmingham at this facility, and we are now able to come back next week and be prepared. All in all, I felt pretty good about today's results."
The event was highlighted by the performance of sophomore sprinter Keenan Brock. Competing in his hometown, Brock tied his personal best time in the 60 meters and took home the event title in a time of 6.66 seconds. In the final, Brock bested last year's NCAA runner-up, Ole Miss' Michael Granger.
Auburn's other title came on the back of another sophomore. Niklas Buhner's 2012 debut came in the mile run and he finished first in a time of 4:11.59.
There were also multiple standout performances on the women's side. Junior Kai Selvon (7.38 seconds) and senior Ashley Crudup (7.42 seconds) finished second and third in the 60m run, respectively. Also, senior Nivea Smith crossed the finish line second in the 200m dash in a time of 23.90 seconds.
"We are young on the women's side, but we feel pretty good about what we saw out of them today," Spry said. "It's good to get them some experience and they will start to come together as we get further into the season."
Junior distance runner Alissa Fisher transitioned from a successful cross country season into indoor track with a second-place finish in the mile run in 4:55.04.
Monica Carney had a successful day in the high jump as she posted a jump of 1.80m to start her senior indoor season in a strong fashion.
Additionally, sophomore Nick Farrell impressed in the men's pole vault with a clearance of 5.05m.
There was no team scoring of the event.
"We made it out of today with no injuries and that's probably the most important thing," Spry said. "Overall, I feel pretty good about the team. They were able to get some confidence and now hopefully they can build off that confidence next week."
Auburn will return to action when it hosts its own indoor meet, the Auburn Invitational, at the Birmingham Crossplex on January 21.