Coming off a successful meet at last weekend's Yellow Jacket Invitational, the Auburn track and field teams have shifted focus to this week's Tiger Track Classic.
The Tigers won three events in the Georgia Tech hosted event, with senior Felix Kiboiywo taking the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:53.22 and senior
Luke Gaines coming in first with a 61.47 meter javelin throw. Redshirt freshman Harry Adams won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.17 seconds, which currently stands as the top time in the nation.
"I'm trying to lower my time every day," Adams said. "That's the key to track. I'm pretty excited because this is my first home meet. I'm ready to see what I can do. We're going to be pretty solid this year, so I'm ready to see what the SEC is going to bring us."
Head coach Ralph Spry said newer faces, such as freshman Kai Selvon, will be instrumental in taking Auburn to championships. Selvon competed in the 4x100-meter relay last weekend, finishing at 44.82 seconds.
"Last weekend at Georgia Tech was a good opener for outdoors," Selvon said. "The team is good and I think we have a good schedule. We're very optimistic. I think I came off pretty good and I'm looking forward to the season. It should be exciting."
Finishing first in the 4x100-meter relay were Selvon, senior Shaquela Williams, junior Joanna Atkins and junior Sheniqua Ferguson.
"I feel really good about both teams this year," Spry said. "Our women's team is very, very talented. I have a team that, I believe, can challenge for a conference championship and possibly a national championship on the women's side."
The Tiger Track Classic will be Friday and Saturday with only the hammer throw and javelin events taking place the first day.
Teams such as Mississippi State and Middle Tennessee State will compete in the tournament, which Spry said he hopes will prove a successful debut for those who competed in the indoor championships and sat out last weekend.
The competition is one of two at home this season, the other being the Auburn Invitational April 16 and 17.
"We have a lot of experienced athletes who are going to help us build this year," Spry said. "That's key to get off to a good start with those types of athletes because your new athletes feed off that. It carries them along."
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