TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Allen Community College track and field team battled more than the elements Friday and Saturday.
The Red Devils were the only junior college athletes competing at the Alabama Relays, hosted by the University of Alabama. The rest of the teams were from NCAA Division I schools, including Alabama, Georgia, Iowa and Indiana universities.
“Most of them were running their B squads, however the mid-major Division I schools were there at full strength,” Allen coach Vince DeGrado said. “This was a great meet for us.”
As has become the norm, a number of Red Devil athletes shined in the spotlight.
Most prominently among them was Chris Donald, who finished second overall in the 400-meter hurdles. Donald’s time of 52.81 seconds qualifies him for the NJCAA national meet.
Donald now ranks first in the nation in the 400 hurdles among all NJCAA runners.
Also qualifying for nationals was Josh Whittaker, who ran the 1500 meters in 4 minutes, 1.87 seconds, good for 31st overall. The world record for the 1500 is 3 minutes, 26 seconds set by Hicham LeEl Guerrouj of Morocco set in 1998.
The Allen men’s 4×100-meter relay team of Kelvin Gant, Michael Burns, Jethro St. Hubert and Rodrick Simmons teamed to post a national-qualifying time of 41.96 seconds, placing them eighth. Gant, Burns and Simmons were joined by Antonio Duncan to finish 10th in the 4×200-meter relay with a time of 1:31.88.
“Antonio was slowed by a hamstring injury, but was still able to finish the race,” DeGrado said.
In addition, the men’s distance medley relay team of Josh Whittaker, Tucker Morgan, Dakota Parker and Donald set a school record of 10:21.32. The quartet shaved 17 seconds from a school mark that had stood since 1967.
“We competed very well in some areas,” DeGrado said. “When you go to a meet of this caliber, and travel as long as we did, you sometimes wonder how they’ll react. For the most part, they stepped up nicely. Friday’s weather wasn’t ideal for short sprint races, but for the middle- to long-distances races, it was perfect. Our athletes weren’t intimidated at all by the competition. This was a great meet for us.”
The meet was canceled midway through Saturday’s events because of rain and lightning, preventing two Allen runners, Tegan Michael (800-meter run) and Terika Henry (400-meter dash), from competing in their signature events, as well as the Red Devil 4×400-meter relay team.
“That was unfortunate, because those two were racing as invites,” DeGrado said. “They were guaranteed to be fast races.”
The Red Devils resume action April 6 at the Emporia State Relays.
Allen’s full results follow:
100-Meter Dash
15. Rodrick Simmons, 11.28 seconds
23. Jethro St. Hubert, 11.46
24. Michael Burns, 11.47
400-Meter Dash
19. Rickcardo Bailey, 50.97 seconds
20. Kyle Smith, 51.52
1500-Meter Run
31. Josh Whittaker, 4:01.87 (Q)
36. Tucker Morgan, 4:04.58
40. Dakota Parker, 4:11.41
5000-Meter Run
27. Ryan Pulsifer, 15:39.88
29. Kyle Schauvliege, 15:49.54
30. Patrick Rachford, 15:55.92
400-Meter Hurdles
2. Chris Donald, 52.81 seconds (Q)
110-Meter Hurdles
14. Bruce Barclay, 14.89 seconds
4×100-Meter Relay
8. Allen (Gant, Burns, St. Hubert, Simmons), 41.96 seconds (Q)
Distance Medley Relay
8. Allen (Whittaker, Morgan, Parker, Donald), 10:21.32 (SR)
(Q) — National qualifying mark
(SR) — School Record
ACC runners hit high gear
