First place is just not good enough for the Alabama men’s and women’s hammer throw.

In the first day of the Crimson Tide invitational, Junior Danielle McConnell and sophomore Daniel Haugh threw marks that landed them in first place for the men’s and women’s hammer throw. McConnell finished with a mark of 59.54 while Haugh marked a personal-best of 67.33. Following Haugh in third was sophomore Jacob Beene with a score of 58.77.

“I probably threw what I expected to, but you always want to throw farther,” said McConnell.

The pressure was on and McConnell was just a half-a-meter short of her goal. She was displeased with her effort, after a heavy practice week put her strength to the test today.

This week the team focused on heavy lifting in order to build their strength. For women like McConnell it drained her energy, but she still managed to stay on top.

On the men’s side, Haugh who has yet to touch the competition hammer in training this year, started out the night with a foul. However, he did not let that prevent him from winning his first hammer throw event of the season.

“I’m happy, but there’s a lot more in the tank,” said Haugh.

There is always room for growth and improvement and that’s what is on McConnell and Haugh mind.

In the men’s javelin throw, freshman Mark Edwards finished sixth with a score of 59.71m.

Field events did not take all the credit today, the final event of the evening was the men’s and women’s 5000 meter run.

Freshman Lizzy Danis fell behind Southern Mississippi’s Dana Millstone who placed first in the 5000 meter run. Danis placed forth with a final time of 16:56.51, knocking out her previous time of 17:35.36 from the FSU Relay’s on March 25.

In the men’s 5000 meter run, freshman James Brinyark finished in seventh with a time of 14:52:49.

The Crimson Tide Invitational will fly into action tomorrow beginning with the women’s discus at 12:30 p.m. and concluding with the men’s 4x400m relay at 7:15 p.m.