University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Head To Nashville For Vandy Invitational
January 28, 2016 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee track and field sprinters and distance runners will compete in the Vanderbilt Invitational from Jan. 29-30 at the Vanderbilt Multi-Purpose Facility.
Jalen Hunter and London Freeland are the only two sprinters slated to compete this weekend. Distance runners Zach Long, Tyler Woodrome, Trey Quealy, Peighton Meske, Emma Reed, Jessica Rizor and Julia Rizor are also set to compete in Nashville.
Most of both the men's and women's teams will remain in Knoxville and prepare for next week's Virginia Tech Elite Meet.
"The team is in a great spot," UT director of track and field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "We had Sunday as a recovery day and everybody rested. We really see this last week in January as a time to go back to the basics and go back to work. The majority of the team will not compete this weekend. We are going to run a few of our sprinters and runners at Vandy this week, but mostly we are just training through and getting a good, solid training cycle on us so we don't have a down weekend.
"This will pay out a month from now in terms of this amount of work on us this week. We will work hard, we will dial in and we will keep the same amount of momentum all season where hard work pays out with great Saturdays."
Tennessee enjoyed a strong showing as the co-host of last week's Conference Clash Power Five Invitational as the men posted nine top-five finishes and the women tallied eight. The Tennessee men moved up to No. 8 in the latest USTFCCCA national team rankings and the women flew 20 spots up the rankings to No. 12.
Senior Felicia Brown garnered SEC Women's Runner of the Week honors for the second-straight week after winning the women's 200 meters in a Tennessee-record time of 22.88 and taking third in the 60 meters with a prelim time of 7.30 (eighth-best in the country) and a finals time of 7.32. Brown also ran the anchor leg of Tennessee's women's 4x400, which took second place with a time of 3.34.43, which ranks fourth nationally.
With personal bests set each week and 15 marks ranking in the nation's top 10, Tennessee enjoyed a strong opening month of the season. Sullivan believes that Tennessee's competitive depth in various events has helped several student-athletes thrive at meets. One example is UT's strength in the sprints with Kali Davis-White and Brown going 1-2 or 2-1 in any 60-meter or 200-meter race they are both entered in.
"I think it is absolutely essential in the event areas where you have some people rivaling each other for top marks," Sullivan said. "If you bring out your best in training, it is going to translate over to your best on competition day. It is absolutely exciting to see the momentum of this group and the excitement around what we are doing. The camaraderie and the team-building focus that we have is also very strong. Barring anything weird this week, we put the month of January in the books as a very successful month and a very productive month."
Below is the list of events for the Vanderbilt Invitational. Please note all times are listed in Central Time.
Track Events
Start Time (CT)
Event
Competing For Tennessee
FRI: 7 p.m.
Women's 200m
London Freeland
FRI: 7:30 p.m..
Men's 200m
Jalen Hunter
FRI: 8 p.m.
Women's DMR
FRI: 8:15 p.m.
Men's DMR
FRI: 8:25 p.m.
Women's 5000m
FRI: 8:50 p.m.
Men's 5000m
SAT: 10 a.m.
Women's 3000m Unseeded
SAT: 10:25 a.m.
Men's 3000m Unseeded
SAT: 10:45 a.m.
Women's Mile Unseeded
SAT: 11 a.m.
Men's Mile Unseeded
SAT: 11:15 a.m.
Women's 400m Unseeded
SAT: 11:25 a.m.
Men's 400m Unseeded
SAT: 1 p.m.
Women's 60mH Prelims
SAT: 1:20 p.m.
Men's 60mH Prelims
Jalen Hunter
SAT: 1:40 p.m.
Women's 60m Prelims
SAT: 2 p.m.
Men's 60m Prelims
SAT: 2:20 p.m.
Women's Mile Seeded
Jessica Rizor, Julia Rizor
SAT: 2:35 p.m.
Men's Mile Seeded
SAT: 2:55 p.m.
Women's 60mH Final
SAT: 3:05 p.m.
Men's 60mH Final
SAT: 3:10 p.m.
Women's 60m Final
SAT: 3:15 p.m.
Men's 60m Final
SAT: 3:20 p.m.
Women's 400m Seeded
London Freeland
SAT: 3:35 p.m.
Men's 400m Seeded
Jalen Hunter
SAT: 3:50 p.m.
Women's 800m Seeded
SAT: 4:05 p.m.
Men's 800m Seeded
Zach Long, Tyler Woodrome, Trey Quealy
SAT: 4:20 p.m.
Women's 3000m Seeded
Peighton Meske, Emma Reed
SAT: 4:35 p.m.
Men's 3000m Seeded
SAT: 4:45 p.m.
Women's 4x400m Relay
SAT: 5:10 p.m.
Men's 4x400m Relay
Field Events
| Start Time (CT) | Event | Competing For Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| FRI: 4 p.m. | Men's & Women's High Jump | |
| FRI: 4 p.m. | Women's Weight Throw | |
| FRI: 5 p.m. | Women's Long Jump | |
| FRI: 5 p.m. | Men's Long Jump | |
| FRI: 5 p.m. | Men's Pole Vault | |
| FRI: 6:30 p.m. | Men's Weight Throw | |
| SAT: 11 a.m. | Women's Shot Put | |
| SAT: Noon p.m. | Women's Pole Vault | |
| SAT: 2 p.m. | Women's Triple Jump | |
| SAT: 2 p.m. | Men's Triple Jump | |
| SAT: 2 p.m. | Men's Shot Put |
