University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Men's Track & Field Ranked #15
January 06, 2016 | Track & Field
NEW ORLEANS — The Tennessee men's track & field team opens the 2016 indoor season ranked as the No. 15 program in the nation in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Preseason Men's Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings. The UT women rank at No. 32.
Eight of the top 20 teams in the men's rankings hail from the Southeastern Conference (No. 1 Florida, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 14 LSU, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 19 South Carolina).
The Tennessee men return several standouts in 2016, including All-Americans Jake Blankenship (pole vault), Cameron Brown (throws), Christian Coleman (sprints/jumps) and Nathan Strother (sprints/hurdles).
At last month's Hoosier Open at Indiana's Gladstein Fieldhouse, Brown won the weight throw with a distance of 72-11.25 (22.23m), Strother took first place in the 300m with a time of 33.67 and several Vols enjoyed strong showings in Bloomington.
The UT women, who have Track & Field News' No. 7 class (freshmen and newcomers) in the nation, feature All-American returners in Felicia Majors (sprints), Cassie Wertman (throws) and Chelsea Blaase (distance).
Brown set a new PR in the 300m last month at the Hoosier Open with a time of 37.12 and ran the first leg of the Vols' first-place 4x400 relay that also featured Kali Davis-White, Lenysse Dyer and DeAndra Greer. Junior Felecia Majors also set a PR in the 300m, clocking a 37.50 to take second place. Wertman won the shot put with a throw of 54 feet (16.56 meters), good for the fourth-best throw of her career. Brielyn Rogers picked up right where she left off from her strong 2015 season, setting a personal best and placing second with a jump of 40 feet, seven inches (12.37 meters).
Tennessee returns to Bloomington on Saturday to for a dual meet against Indiana.
