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Quanesha Burks NCAA Women's Long Jump Champion
Graphic/Photo Credit: Roll Tide.com
This woman is on fire!
University of Alabama junior long jumper QUANESHA BURKS has done it again! The young lady claimed the women's long jump title at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships yesterday evening at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Burks broke her own school record as well as the facility record with her final jump of the evening. That jump was an amazing 22 feet, 3 3/4 inches (6.80m) and now ties her for sixth on the all-time collegiat list in the women's indoor long jump.
"My runway, when I was running, was a little inconsistent, Burks commented. "So on the last
one my coach [jumps coach MIGUEL PATE] said we need to put it all
together because I wasn’t pushing off the back and then I wasn’t running
through the board. He said I need to get a complete jump on the last
one. So, that was my focus and I felt really good on the last jump."
Though Burks was leading after the first round with a jump of 21-6/14 (6.56m) she would continue to improve on each of the next two rounds/jumps. Heading into the finals her best effort was 21-10 3/4 (6.67m). That remained her best until that sixth and final jump.
Burks broke the University of Alabama record three times this indoor season, with two of those coming at the CrossPlex and the other conference meet.
Burks continued, "I am excited I got in that last jump. This is a blessing. I’m giving God all of the glory. This indoor season has been amazing and I am just looking forward to outdoor now."
Burks is only the seventh in program history to win a national title at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
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2016 Spring Football Practice Day 1
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Robert Sutton
Ahhh the smell and sounds of football are in the air in Tuscaloosa.
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team opened spring practice yesterday afternoon with a two-hour workout in shorts and helmets on the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields. Eight mid-year enrollees joined the practice. They are offensive lineman JONAH WILLIAMS, offensive lineman CHARLES BALDWIN, wide receiver T. J. SIMMONS, linebacker CHRISTIAN BELL, offensive lineman CHRIS OWENS, tight end MILLER FORRISTALL, defensive back SHAWN JENNINGS and quarterback JALEN HURTS.
Three new coaches also took to the practice field for the 2016 spring practice season. The were defensive backs coach DERRICK ANSLEY, offensive line coach BRENT KEY and new defensive coordinator JEREMY PRUITT.
14 starters return from the National Championship team of 2015, including six on offense, five on defense and three on special teams. Returning are offensive linemen ALPHONSE TAYLOR, ROSS PIERSCHBACKER and CAM ROBINSON. Tight end O.J. HOWARD and wide receivers CALVIN RIDLEY and ArDARIUS STEWART were present. Also returning are lineman JONATHAN ALLEN, linebacker RUEBEN FOSTER, defensive backs MINKAH FITZPATRICK, MARLON HUMPHREY and EDDIE JACKSON, place-kicker ADAM GRIFFITH, long snapper COLE MAZZA as well as punter JK SCOTT.
Those are the pluses. Now the minuses. Several of the Tide players were wearing black, no-contact jerseys during the first day of scrimmage. Head coach NICK SABAN gave an update on six of them in his post-practice press conference. He says those six may practice all spring wearing the black.
Saban said, "We've got some guys that are probably gonna miss most of the spring, maybe all the spring. Jonathan Allen, who had shoulder surgery, Cam Robinson, who had shoulder surgery, Eddie Jackson, who had a leg issue, Raheem Falkins, who had a leg issue, Dakota Ball, who had a foot issue, and Shawn Jennings came here with an injury that he got in high school that he's still not healed from. Those guys will have a difficult time to probably have a chance to participate at all this spring."
Spring break is next week for the University of Alabama, so the team will take the entire week off. Yesterday's practice gave the coaches an opportunity to look at how the talent and conditioning of the team looks at this point. Bama returns to the practice field on Monday, March 21st for the second of 15 spring practices, including the A-Day game.
The 2016 A-Day game will be Saturday, April 16th at 2 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. As always admission is free to the public.
Alabama Football Head Coach Nick Saban
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Robert Sutton
Quarterback Blake Barnett
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Robert Sutton
Defensive Coordinator Jeremy Pruitt
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Robert Sutton
Quarterback Jalen Hurts
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Robert Sutton
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SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
Kentucky Wildcats Hold Back The Tide
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Bama Loses In SEC Tournament 85-59
Alabama Forward Shannon Hale
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Bama was just out-gunned.
The University of Alabama men's basketball team fell hard to the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats last night 85-59 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee. The Crimson Tide entered this year's tournament as the No. 10 seed, and advanced to the quarterfinals with a win over No. 7 seed Ole Miss on Thursday night.
Kentucky was red-hot from three-point land, and the Tide had no answer to the dilemma. The Cats hit 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Alabama was only able to connect on 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) last night after having the hot hand against Ole Miss the night before going 12-of-24. Bama entered last night's contest second in the Southeastern Conference in three-point field goal percentage.
Senior guard ARTHUR EDWARDS was 7-of-12 from the field and 6-of-10 from beyond the arc to lead the Crimson Tide with a career-high 20 points on the night. Senior guard RETIN OBASOHAN with a total of 18 points, with 17 of those coming in the second half. It was sophomore forward RILEY NORRIS leading the Tide in rebounding for the 11th time this season, grabbing seven last night.
Alabama head basketball coach AVERY JOHNSON was gracious in defeat saying, "First, I want to congratulate Kentucky. They played an outstanding game on both ends of the floor. We
haven't had much success with them this year. This is our third loss to
them. They were energized. They were ready to play. Coach Cal has done a
nice job with a balanced team, some young guys, some older veterans.
We've got to take our hats off to them. They were ready to play. They
pressured us all night long, and we were on our heels. So
congratulations to them. We hope that not only Kentucky but a few other
teams really move forward as it relates to the NCAA Tournament."
Bama will have to wait until Sunday night to find out about its post-season fate. Will it be the NCAA Tournament or the NIT?
"I think our resume is solid," commented Johnson. "We're playing in a tough
conference, where a lot of teams didn't win a lot on the road this year.
We played well at home. There’s a lot of parity in the conference. So
whether that's NCAA or NIT, I don’t know. Two weeks ago, we were
supposedly on the bubble, right? Or we were the last four in. I'll put
our resume up against any team in the country or any of those teams
that's on the bubble watch. I really love our resume. So whether it's
NCAA Tournament, NIT, or whatever it is, I'm hoping that we can make it
to some postseason tournament."
Alabama Guard Retin Obasohan
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
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Bama Baseball Falls 3-1 To Houston
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
In a game that came down to the ninth inning, the Alabama baseball team fell 3-1 to No. 21 Houston last night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The win for the Cougars came on a pair of runs in the top of the final inning to take the series opener.
Alabama baseball head coach MITCH GASPARD said, "A lot of credit goes to (Andrew) Lantrip. I thought he pitched well. He pitched us the same way, as he climbed
the ladder and we chased the ball up. Offensively tonight, our
performance was just not enough."
