Unleashing Excellence: The Thrilling World of UAB Athletics

BIRMINGHAM – The UAB Track & Field squad witnessed six personal records being set on Friday at the Samford Invite held at the Birmingham Crossplex.

“We observed numerous encouraging developments from the team today,” remarked Head Coach Kurt Thomas. “Our meet was canceled last weekend, so this is our first opportunity to see them compete after the break and assess what else we need to improve on. I’m extremely proud of Juliana and Olivia for participating and performing well in their inaugural Pentathlon. That’s a tough day. Gabby (Washington) and Hannah Smith put in solid performances in their 60m races. Christiana (Mudd) excelled in the hurdles, achieving 2 new personal records. Lidia (Longo) shone brightly, and the other milers executed strong races and competed fiercely. Hope (Foster) had an impressive high jump, setting a personal record with some commendable efforts at higher bars. There’s much to refine, but I’m proud of our start and eager to see our progress in our next competition.”

Birthe Franck-Petersen represented the Blazers in the Shot Put, where she matched her second-best performance ever. Franck-Petersen now possesses the top five indoor Shot Put throws in UAB school history.

Hope Foster achieved her personal best in the High Jump with a mark of 1.66m (5 feet, 5 ¼ inches), surpassing her previous record by .06m (2 ¼ inches). The freshman now ranks sixth in UAB’s indoor High Jump history.

Christiana Mudd notched her personal best in the preliminaries of the 60m Hurdles, timing in at 8.69 seconds and winning Heat 2. Mudd also clocked an 8.73 in the Finals, finishing in 3rd place.

Lidia Longo also achieved a personal record in the 1 Mile competition on Friday. Longo recorded a time of 4:59.63, securing 5th place in Heat 1. Lia Castillo also raced for the Blazers, finishing with a time of 5:09.38, which earned her 3rd place in Heat 2. Sangie Lincoln-Velez completed her race in 5:10.25, winning Heat 3 by seven seconds. Lia Ganley recorded her personal best with a time of 5:31.21.

Leticia Quingostas set a new personal milestone in the 400m, finishing at 58.03 and taking 2nd place in Heat 4. Jasmine Dereje secured 2nd place in Heat 3 with a time of 58.68.

In the women’s 800m event, Regina Harris and Ariana Felton competed for the Blazers. Harris finished with a time of 2:18.42, while Felton came in at 2:20.53.

Gabby Washington placed 2nd (24.13) in the first heat of the 200m for the Green and Gold. Washington now owns the fourth-fastest indoor 200m time in UAB school history. 

Hannah Smith took 2nd in Heat 3 of the 200m, clocking in at 25.28, while Eriyanna Reed emerged victorious in Heat 8 with a time of 25.45.

Ava Brooks achieved her personal best in the 3000m race, finishing with a time of 10:40.29 and improving her previous record by nine seconds.

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