Happy Monday, everyone. Alabama had a respectable performance at the NCAA track and field national championships, with the men finishing fourth and the women seventh. There was one individual national champion, and she is only a freshman.
Doris Lemngole finished first in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, earning the national champion with a lifetime-best 9:15.24.
Her mark set the collegiate, meet, and school records.
Lemngole is the first female 3,000-meter steeplechase champion in school history.
Hilda Olemomoi won a silver medal in the women’s 5,000 meters with a time of 15:10.04.
None of the men won gold, but the Tide did win a handful of silver medals.
Samuel Ogazi finished second in the men’s 400-meter race, crossing the line in 44.52.
Chris Robinson won silver in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, clocking 47.98.
Corde Long also podiumed in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, finishing sixth with a 49.47 effort.
Tarsis Orogot finished fourth in the men’s 200-meter, recording 20.14 in the event final.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Chris Robinson, Matthew Weaver, Samuel Ogazi, and Khaleb McRae finished ninth, crossing the line in 3:03.18.
Congrats to everyone.
The greatest news of the weekend was an excellent cornerback commit from Mater Dei.
May that pipeline remain open. Alabama’s class now ranks fifth on the composite.
Derrion Reid helped the United States win the FIBA Americas Cup for under-18s. He was the sixth member of the squad and played around the same number of minutes as the starting wings. Reid finished the tournament tied for third on the team in scoring with 10.3 points and second in rebounding with 7.7 boards while playing only 16.5 minutes per game. His greatest game perhaps came against Canada in the semifinals. Highlights are provided below.
#9 Derrion Reid vs Canada | 2024 FIBA u18 AmeriCup
PTS: 12 (T-Team High)
REB: 10 (Game High)
OREB: 1
AST: 3
STL: 1
FG: 6-8 (75%)
2P: 6-7 (85.7%)
3P: 0-1
MIN: 16:45
+5pic.twitter.com/IBx4fEs9eP— 🐘🏀 (@UARoundballGuy) June 9, 2024
Reid is 6’7″, plays hard on defense, has a knack for getting the ball off the rim, and is at ease handling the basketball. He even shown some smooth passing abilities. Derrion did not play a long game, as he missed all four three-point attempts. This is certainly a small sample size, but he made 40% from three on the Nike EYBL tour. It’s hard to believe that this guy won’t make some noise this season.
He’s biased, but the quarterback committed. Keelon Russell’s private trainer believes he has something exceptional.
