Nearly three dozen athletes from the Alabama track and field teams will represent the Crimson Tide at the NCAA East Region Preliminary at Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 29 to 31.

The team will send 16 individuals from the men’s team, 14 from the women’s team and four relay teams. The top 12 finishers from this meet, along with the top 12 finishers from the West Region, will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships to be held June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.

Alabama coach Dan Waters said he expects his team to fare well at the competition, but there is also a lot to learn from being present at such a meet, regardless of the outcome.

“Each individual has his or her own specific goals in mind, and the ultimate goal is obviously to advance to the NCAAs,” Waters said. “In many ways, the region meet is like the conference meet in that you can gain a lot from simply being there, so it’s a positive thing for our program to have nearly three dozen athletes there to compete. I expect us to come out and execute the technical training that we’ve been working on all year. If we do that and compete as hard as we possibly can, then we’ll do well.”

Competition at the regional meet begins Thursday at noon with the women’s hammer throw, which will feature UA athlete Nia Barnes.

Barnes, who competed in the regional meet last year as well, said this year she is approaching the competition more focused, and most importantly, more relaxed than last year. She said the mental aspect of the meet is crucial, especially in an event such as hammer throw, where centimeters will decide who advances in the post-season.

“The regional meet is all a mental game, because it’s 48 people all trying to get to one place, and only 12 go,” she said. “It’s a game of who is prepared and focused the most, because if you focus on executing your event then you will do what you have been all season.”

Despite the mental aspect of the competition, senior sprinter Akeem Haynes said it is important to keep rhythm and routine the same in preparation for the regional competition.

“This meet is more of a playoff, elimination type,” Haynes said. “Nothing really changes. We’ve done all the work to prepare, so now it’s more just executing, letting the body get as fresh as possible and performing on our race day.”

Previously, the Crimson Tide competed in SEC Championships, which were held from May 15 to 18 in Lexington, Kentucky, where Waters said that he feels his team had a good showing overall and gained valuable experience in the competition.

“We certainly had some good things happen in each of the disciplines,” Waters said. “We had some impressive personal records set throughout the weekend in all areas. I’m pleased of the way we finished strong on Sunday.”

He also said performances by individual racers as well as best times from a relay team left a positive mark at the end of the meet which will carry across the upcoming post-season competition.

“Finishing a meet well like that can help set the tone for your next meet, which is important,” Waters said. “There’s no such thing as a bad experience at conference meets, because any experience you gain there is positive. We certainly had some positive things happen – whether it’s an individual championship, a new PR or a wealth of teachable moments and experiences to take home.”

(See also “UA track and field team climbs ranks“)