The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
2010 Track & Field Preview
12/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Dec. 31, 2009
In its 24th year of track and field, UAB returns 21 athletes, including two NCAA regional qualifiers and four all-conference honorees. Joining this talented group are 10 newcomers including three state champions and a gold medal winner at the USA Track & Field Junior Olympics.
Leading the Blazers will be first year interim head coach Kurt Thomas. Thomas is in his third year at UAB overall and has coached multiple all-conference athletes and regional qualifiers during his tenure as an assistant track & field coach.
Joining Thomas will be second-year assistant coach Althea Thomas and first-year assistant coach Blake Boldon. Thomas will work primarily with the heptathletes, jumpers and act as the team's recruiting coordinator. Boldon, also the head cross country coach, will coach the distance squad and middle distance runners during the track season.
Mid-Distance/Distance
The distance group returns a solid core of veterans including senior Kristina Olsen junior Stephanie Gammon, sophomore Rhiannon Johns and redshirt junior Kendel Hood.
Last season Johns broke two freshman records, the indoor 3,000m with a time of 9:52.96, and the outdoor 10,000m with a time of 36:47.51. Gammon's third-place finish in the 10,000m at the C-USA Championships earned her all-conference honors.
"We are a more experienced group this year and the girls are training really well right now for cross country," head coach Kurt Thomas said. "Under Blake's new leadership, I really look to see a lot of the girls contribute in a big way this season."
Also running distance for UAB are sophomores Clara Cid, Katie Jorgensen, Lucy Taylor and junior, Lacey Wright.
Sprints
Seniors Adrienne Bradley and Katrina Harrell, along with junior Veronicia Johnson, lead the way for the young sprint squad this season.
After being injured last season, Harrell, UAB's most experienced and talented sprinter, returns to compete in the 200m. Johnson will be counted on to lead the way in the 400m and the 4x400 relay. Lastly, the Blazers will look to senior Adrienne Bradley for the 4x100 relays.
Six newcomers with impressive experience will also be looked upon to contribute for UAB. Those newcomers include national runner-up and All-American Angel Watson, and All-American Karina Expose. Rachel Harley, Shakima Knox, Miriam Ejide and Kim Taylor are all talented runners that will give UAB depth.
Hurdlers
All-conference honoree Timara McMillan will lead the Green and Gold hurdlers in 2010. McMillan finished third in the heptathlon at the C-USA Outdoor Championships and scored for the Blazers in the 100m hurdles.
Experienced senior Christina Chambers will join McMillan, focusing on in the 400m hurdles. Newcomer Akira McSwain, an All-American in the 100m hurdles, and Lytrice Thomas and Rachel Harley will also be looked upon for UAB.
Jumps
NCAA regional qualifier Nora Mehl returns for UAB in 2009 after winning the heptathlon at the 2009 C-USA Outdoor Championships. Mehl also leaped to a third-place finish in the high jump at the C-USA Indoor Championships (1.70m).
Fellow NCAA regional qualifier Samantha Hamilton will return for UAB's talented jumping squad. Hamilton finished 12th overall with a jump of 12.02m and will be the Blazers top triple jumper.
Also jumping for UAB is all-conference honoree Timara McMillan and newcomer Sommer Marcus.
Multi
The multi group contains a diverse group of athletes that excel in various events. NCAA at-large qualifier and NCAA Mideast Regional qualifier Nora Mehl leads the way for this talented group. Mehl is the defending conference champion in the heptathlon and was all-conference in the indoor pentathlon.
McMillan was also all-conference in the outdoor heptathlon during the 2009 season and will be joined by junior Sterling Cross, who placed eighth in the heptathlon at the C-USA Championships, recording personal bests in the shot put and 100m hurdles. Joining the veterans are newcomers Lytrice Newcomers and Callerina Key.
Relays
UAB looks to return to its record-setting ways of 2008 in the distance medley relay with a strong core of seasoned runners leading the way including Stephanie Gammon, Rhiannon Johns and Kristina Olsen.
In the 4x100 the Blazers have a young but talented squad of sprinters. This group will be led by Adrienne Bradley, who ran on the 4x100 squad at the 2009 C-USA Outdoor Championships.
UAB was the conference champions in the 4x400 in 2008, and they look to Bianca Le'Blanc and other talented runners to help them return to contention for this year's conference championships.
