AUBURN, Alabama—Auburn track and field is set to host the annual Tiger Track Classic on Saturday, April 25th, at the Hutsell Rosen Track. Field events will begin at 10:30 a.m. CT with men’s javelin and women’s hammer throw, while the running events start at 2:30 p.m. CT with the women’s 4x100m relay.
“This is an opportunity for a couple of our athletes who are not necessarily the ones you hear about a lot to clean up a few things in a comfortable environment on their home track, and hopefully put some numbers up that indicate the ability to score at SECs or qualify for Nationals,” head coach Leory Burrell said. “You’ll see some of the guys who have been a little bit in the background competing this weekend.”
Admission and parking for the meet is free. Spectators are encouraged to park at the AG Heritage Lots located east and northeast of Hutsell-Rosen Track. There will not be concessions; therefore, fans are welcome to bring their own food and beverage.
Entering the weekend, the men’s squad is ranked No. 6 in the most recent USTFCCCA poll, while the women come in at No. 32. It is the Tiger men’s second-highest regular-season ranking in the history of the USTFCCCA poll.
The meet will feature athletes from five schools, including Alabama, Alabama State, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Georgia is currently ranked No. 1 nationally in both the men’s and women’s polls, while the other three SEC squads are ranked in the top 25 on both sides.
Prior to the start of the running events, the Tigers will honor 20 seniors at 1:30 p.m. CT. The list includes Shelby Balding, Gene Coetzee, Megan Hague, Danae Nembhard, Hallie Porterfield, Alyssa Quinones-Mixon, Cassidra Thompson, and Reese Webster on the women’s side. The senior men being honored are Seth Allen, LeBron Bessick, Aaron Davis II, Azeem Fahmi, Rex Green, Austin Kresley, John Leonard, Ian Myers, Devin Nugent, Omari Lewis, Matthew Rainer, and Matthew Rueff. Also being recognized is senior manager Kadisha Francois.
“It’s an opportunity for us to honor our seniors because for many of them, it’s their last regular-season home meet,” Burrell said. “So, this will be all about reminiscing about the four years that they were here in graduation, and time for them to spend some time with their families.”
The Tigers are coming off a split weekend with impressive showings at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida, and will look to deliver a standout performance in front of its home crowd.
“We had a really good weekend, including several national leading marks at the time,” Burrell said. “Just the performances we had the whole weekend were amazing. I told the staff they did an excellent job preparing this group.”
Over the two meets, the Tigers broke two school records, tied a freshman school record, tallied 12 new personal bests, and notched five NCAA top 10 marks.
The weekend was highlighted by Junior Max Hardin breaking the longest-standing Auburn outdoor record in the men’s 1500m with a crossing time of 3:38.28 in Winston-Salem. The Auburn native surpassed the 45-year-old mark previously set by Roger Jones in 1981.
“Max really stole the show with a 3:38.28, which is a school record for us,” Burrell said, “I’m really excited for him, given what he’s been through. Max has really stepped up to the plate and hit a home run for us. We’re looking forward to big things for him the rest of the season.”
Senior Megan Hague shattered the outdoor women’s shot put record with a toss of 18.22m/59-9.5, surpassing Valentina Muzaric’s mark set in 2013 by 0.33m. In just her third collegiate competition, Sophia Mazzoni matched her own Auburn freshman record she set a month prior with a throw of 51.18m/167-11 in women’s javelin.
Junior NCAA Champion Ja’Kobe Tharp made his outdoor season debut, posting a 13.09 in the men’s 110m hurdles, the second fastest wind-legal time in the world this season. Kayinsola Ajayi ran a wind-aided 9.90 to win the men’s 100m invite, currently tied for the third fastest time in the NCAA this season. Sophomore Israel Okon captured gold in the men’s 200m race in 20.27, the second fastest time in the NCAA this season.
“Israel in the 200m was amazing, 20.27, national No. 2 mark currently in the event, and then for Israel to bounce back and run 9.95 right behind Ajayi in the 100m,” Burrell said. “Those two guys are different animals, and they continually represent Auburn in the best way possible.
Live results for the Tiger Track Classic can be found HERE.