University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Conference Clash: Power Five Invitational
UT Sprint & Distance Stars Shine At Conference Clash
January 23, 2016 | Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Tennessee's sprint and distance stars shined on Saturday at the Conference Clash Power Five Invitational at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The SEC men defeated the men competing for the other Power Five conferences, 91-74. The SEC women fell to their Power Five counterparts, 85.5-84.5.
Tennessee posted 17 combined top 5 performances on the week with nine by the men and eight by the women.
Felicia Brown continued her strong weekend performing before family and friends, setting a new Tennessee school record in the women's 200 meters with a scorching 22.88 on Saturday. That time also ranks first in the nation this year.
"I thought we performed extremely well," Tennessee Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "We had some things not go well, and that's a track meet. You start on yesterday morning and you get done this afternoon. We had some things that went extremely well and some things that didn't. Being a good month and a half from championship time or a good month from SEC Championship time, these are the kinds of things you want to live and die with over the weekend."
Sullivan was pleased with UT's standout performances in a variety of events. The 15 teams competing at the Conference Clash combined to set 12 facility records at the CrossPlex in meet that served as both an SEC Championship preview and an NCAA Championship preview.
"I want to give a shoutout to Auburn," she said. "We co-hosted this and Scott Richardson did a great job, the Auburn staff did a great job and the facility here at the Birmingham CrossPlex is a great place to be. It will be exciting to be back at nationals. I hope everybody in Vol Nation can get down to Birmingham and see us as well."
Tennessee Men
Christian Coleman ran an amazing PR of 20.70, taking second place in the 200-meter final. That mark ranks second in the nation and ranks fourth in UT history. It is the fastest time since Rubin Williams set the school record at 20.36 in 2008.
"Let's not forget that Christian Coleman ran 20.70," Sullivan said. "I keep saying that - 20.70 - because that's flying fast and he looked great doing it. He got nipped by the guy from LSU and that's a great thing because they will square off again at conference and right back here at nationals. That keeps you hungry. That keeps you excited."
Coleman also ran the second leg of Tennessee's first-place men's 4x400 relay (Ari Cogdell, Coleman, Antonio Carter, Nathan Strother), which took first with a time of 3:09.70. That time ranks 11th in Tennessee history and it is the Vols' fastest since 2008.
Antonio Carter ran a strong third leg of the 4x400 at 47.913, helping give Strother a wide lead by the time of the final hand-off. Strother ran 46.647 in his anchor leg.
Austin Whitelaw set a new PR in the 3,000 meters with a winning time of 8:05.59. That mark is the 11th-fastest in the country and the seventh-fastest in school history.
Nathan Strother set a PR in the 400 meters, taking third in 46.85. That is the fourth-fastest mark in Tennessee history and the eighth-fastest in the nation this year.
Ocean Walters-Carlson took third place in the men's pole vault, clearing a PR height of 4.95 meters (16-2.75).
Tennessee Women
Brown's winning 200-meter time of 22.88 broke a school record set by UT legend Courtney Champion (22.92) in 2007. Brown took fourth in the 60 meters with a finals time of 7.32 and also ran the anchor leg of UT's 4x400 squad (Layla White, Felecia Majors, Kali Davis-White, Brown) which took second with a 3:34.43.
"I can't say enough about it, but Fe Brown was tremendous to break a record set by Courtney Champion," Sullivan said. "That just gives me chills. Courtney was an outstanding athlete for Tennessee and to have Fe Brown step in during her senior year really is exciting. Tim Hall has done a great job working with her and she has just done a great job coming along."
Kali Davis-White continues to be one of UT's biggest contributors. Davis-White ran a PR 23.23 in the 200-meter final, posting the second-fastest time in the nation this year and tying for the fifth-best mark in Tennessee history. She also ran the third leg of UT's 4x400 relay, which finished second.
"Kali Davis-White is someone that has just stepped onto our team and taken it to another level as well," Sullivan said of the key transfer from Florida State.
Chelsea Blaase made her 2016 indoor debut with a win in the 3000 meters, clocking the seventh-fastest time in the nation at 9:24.83.
Cassie Wertman had her best performance in the shot put this season with a throw of 16.89 meters (55-5.00) to take second place. That distance ranks sixth in the country.
Tennessee Men
FRIDAY
60m Prelims: 10. Mustaqeem Williams, 6.84!; 21. Malik Elion, 6.93
200m Prelims: 2. Christian Coleman, 20.94! (won Heat 2); 20. Mustaqeem Williams, 21.85!; 31. Malik Elion, 22.11
DMR: 3. Tennessee A - Zach Long (3:01.337), Darryl Harris (48.584), Antonio Carter (1:53.220), Austin Whitelaw (9:49.437) - 9:49.44
High Jump: 4. Wesley Edwards, 2.10m! (6-8.75)
Weight Throw: 2. Cameron Brown, 22.36m (73-4.50); 13. Matthew Zajac, 18.37m (60-3.25); 16. Seth Whitener, 16.88m (55-4.75)
SATURDAY
200m Final: 2. Christian Coleman, 20.70!
400m: 3. Nathan Strother, 46.85!; 8. Ari Cogdell, 48.04
Mile: 21. Zach Long, 4:15.88; 25. Tyler Woodrome, 4:17.80!
3000m: 1. Austin Whitelaw, 8:05.59!
4x400m: 3. Tennessee A - Ari Cogdell, Christian Coleman, Antonio Carter, Nathan Strother - 3:09.70
Long Jump: 19. Darryl Harris, 6.81m (22-4.25)
Pole Vault: 3. Ocean Walters-Carlson, 4.95m! (16-2.75); 10. Nate Harper, 4.65 (15-3.00); Jake Blankenship, nh
Tennessee Women
FRIDAY
60m Prelims: 3. Felicia Brown, 7.30! (won Heat 6); 21. Maia McCoy, 7.54!; 27. DeAndra Greer, 7.61
200m Prelims: 1. Felicia Brown, 23.13! (won Heat 2); 2. Kali Davis-White, 23.25! (won Heat 3); 38. DeAndra Greer, 25.05!; 42. Maia McCoy, 25.13
Triple Jump: 11. LaChyna Roe, 12.13m (39-9.75); 13. Brielyn Rogers, 12.08m (39-7.75)
Pole Vault: T-5. Kristen Denk, 3.91m (12-10.00)
Weight Throw: 10. Savannah Marlow, 16.99m! (55-9.00)
SATURDAY
60m Final: 4. Felicia Brown, 7.32
200m Final: 1. Felicia Brown, 22.88sr!; 2. Kali Davis-White, 23.23!
400m: 4. Felecia Majors, 53.70; 11. Layla White, 54.97; 17. Lenysse Dyer, 56.10
3000m: 1. Chelsea Blaase, 9:24.83
4x400m: 2. Tennessee A - Layla White, Felecia Majors, Kali Davis-White, Felicia Brown - 3:34.43
Long Jump: 7. Cidae'a Woods, 6.06m (19-10.75); 11. Chyna Ries, 5.89m (19-4.00)
Shot Put: 2. Cassie Wertman, 16.89m (55-5.00)
! - Personal Best, $ - SEC Record, a - American Record, b - Banked Track, c - Collegiate Record, adv. - Advanced, dna - Did Not Advance, dnf - Did Not Finish, dnr - Did Not Run, dns - Did Not Score, dq - Disqualified, F - Foul, f - Facility Record, fr - Freshman Record, fr* - Tied Freshman Record, fs - False Start, H - Heptathlon, h - Hand-Timed, mr - Meet Record, nh - No Height, nm - No Mark, P - Pentathlon, sr - School Record, u - Undersized Track, w - wind-aided, wr - World Record
