AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn track & field team will split its squad between the Crimson Tide Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and the Hurricane Alumni Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida, this weekend, April 5-6.
Action from the Sam Bailey Track & Field Stadium in Tuscaloosa begins Friday at 10:00 a.m. CT with the women's hammer throw while action from the Cobb Track & Field Facility in Coral Gables begins Friday with the men's hammer throw at 9:00 a.m. CT.
The Tigers enter the meets with the men's team ranked fifth in the most recent USTFCCCA poll.
Last time out, the team had a strong showing in Gainesville, Florida at the Pepsi Florida Relays with four event wins. The highlight of the weekend was junior Favour Ashe's win in the 100m dash. Ashe's time of 9.99 is the only sub-10 performance in the nation.
"We've had three very good meets in a row," Auburn track & field head coach Leroy Burrell said. "We've had performances that were noteworthy and put us on the map every week from one event group to the next. It's all coming together, and at a certain point, we'll get all the different components of our team performing at a high level."
Freshman Ja'Kobe Tharp ran the second fastest 110m hurdles time in Auburn history (13.46). Tharp holds the Auburn freshman record in the event previously held by James Walker (13.76) in 1976. His time is No. 7 in the nation and No. 4 in the SEC.
Auburn distance men Ryan Kinnane and Max Hardin had solid performances in the 1500m. With a PR in the event, Kinnane finished second with a time of 3:41.42, placing him third on Auburn's top performer's list. Freshman Hardin finished third. His time of 3:41.83 broke the freshman record held by Brian Jaeger.
Sophomore Alyssa Quinones-Mixon continued her hot streak in the women's pole vault. She finished second and ranks No. 4 in the SEC. Quinones-Mixon is second on Auburn's outdoor top performer's list.
Auburn looks to throw up some eye-catching multi scores in Miami via sophomore Michael May in the decathlon and sophomores Elise Heddens and Paula Grauvogel in the heptathlon.
While in Tuscaloosa, the men will line up against South Alabama, Memphis, and No. 8 Alabama. The women will compete against Troy, Southern Mississippi and Alabama.
Going toe-to-toe with the men and women in Coral Gables will be No. 9/6 Georgia, No. 24/22 Penn State, NR/No. 9 UCF and the hosts Miami.
"Now it's time to get everyone performing at a high level at the same time," Burrell said. "That's what we're looking for as we approach the championship part of our season."
Live Results on Friday for the Crimson Tide Invitational can be found at pttiming.com.
Live results on Friday for the Hurricane Alumni Invitational can be found at pttiming.com.