April 16, 2008 – TUSCALOOSA, AL – Barry Batson topped a long list of Maroon Tigers named to the 2008 SIAC All-Conference Track and Field Team announced today by conference officials.

Student-athletes were named to the All-SIAC honor roll based on achieving the best time, height or distance in the 2008 outdoor season. Second-best performers were designated to the second team.

With 14 athletes on both teams, Morehouse led the field. Fort Valley was second with eight and Albany State was third, with seven.

Batson, a junior from Christ Church, Barbados, made the first team twice. He had the best height in the high jump (1.93 m) and the best distance in the triple jump (14.53 m). His long jump distance of 6.73 meters was second best this season and earned him a spot on the second team in that event.

Damian Prince was another multiple All-Conference honoree. Prince, a junior from Decatur, GA had the best time in the 400-meter dash (47.26) and the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (52.20).

Abraham Kiprotich earned first-team honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, with a season-best time of 9:07.43, and second-team honors in the 5k run, with a time of 15:22.21.

Freshman Matt Tuffuor threw the discus farther than anyone else in the SIAC in 2008 (46.09 m) and gained a spot on the All-Conference first team. Tuffuor also garnered second-team recognition in the shot putt, with a throw of 13.51 meters.

Turner Coggins, a sophomore football and track athlete from Laplata, MD, hurled his way onto the first team in the shot putt, with a heave of 13.74 meters.

Derrick Smith a football and track athlete from Newnan, GA earned second-team honors in the triple jump, with a leap of 14.26 meters.

Oliver Richmond, a senior biology major from Cleveland, OH, vaulted his way onto the second-team with a height of 3.05 meters in the pole vault.

Daniel King, a freshman thrower, had the second-best javelin toss of the season and earned second-team honors.