Alabama Track and Field Qualifies 11 Women at the NCAA East Preliminary

The Crimson Tide now has 24 total athletes making the trip to Oregon for the NCAA Championship Finals next month

The day after 13 men from Alabama track and field qualified for next month's NCAA Championship Finals, 11 women joined their teammates in Saturday's final day of the East Preliminary.

In total, 24 members of the Crimson Tide will be traveling to Eugene, Ore. for the championship finals.

"I’m super proud of the way everyone competed today and really all week and of the crew that we have going to Eugene and the NCAA finals," Alabama coach Dan Waters said. "We’ve put ourselves in a position to close this season with a special meet in Oregon. […] We just have to stay focused, stay healthy and close strong."

Mercy Chelangat posts the fastest time in the NCAA East Preliminary 5,000 meters with a 15:45.59!#NCAATF #BamaDistance #RollTide pic.twitter.com/5eJZg4XalD

— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) May 30, 2021

Three Alabama women in Mercy Chelangat (10,000 meters), Nickolette Dunbar (shot put) and Taylor Gorum (shot put) all qualified for next month's finals with their efforts on Thursday. On Saturday, eight more women joined them.

Here is a list of the remaining eight members that will be making the trip to Eugene:

• Amaris Tyynismaa snapped Evelyn Adriu's 1986 school record of 4:09.61 with a 4:09.48 in the 1,500 meters, setting a Hodges Stadium record along the way, while finishing more than a second ahead of the field

• Tamara Clark ran a 10.98 to qualifying in the 100 meters, marking just the second wind legal sub-11 second time in school history

• Natassha McDonald posted the second-fastest time of her career, a 51.03, to break the Hodges Stadium record in the 400 meters and move on to Eugene

• Leah Hanle went a 10:00.05 to earn her trip to the NCAA Championship Finals in the 3,000-meter steeplechase

• Mercy Chelangat posted to the fastest time of the night in the 5,000 meters (15:45.59) after earning a spot in the 10,000 meters on Thursday

• Esther Gitahi posted a 15:57.48 to earn a trip to Oregon in the 5,000 meters

• Daija Lampkin, Clark, D'Jai Baker and McDonald opened Saturday’s running events by posting a 42.97 in the 4x100-meter relay to punch their ticket for Oregon

• Christal Mosley, Clark, Baker and McDonald closed the night by posting a season-best 3:28.23 in the 4x400-meter relay and earning a spot in Eugene

Up Next:

• The 2021 NCAA Championship Finals will be held June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore.
• The Crimson Tide has advanced 13 men and 11 women to Oregon