University of Tennessee Athletics
TRACK & FIELD CENTRAL: Indiana Dual Meet
January 08, 2016 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee track and field program returns to Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday to compete against Indiana in the 21st Indiana-Tennessee Dual Meet at Gladstein Fieldhouse.
The Vols previously competed at the site in December at the Hoosier Open.
"It is going to be an interesting weekend because it is very early season," Tennessee director of track & field/cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "School has not started yet and the team just reported for practice on Monday."
"It will be an early-season dual meet, which is a great way to start. We won't necessarily look for performances that are school records or ties for top PRs and things like that. We will look for competitive opportunities. That is what this is going to teach our team. We need to have the environment to go in and compete and do what it takes to try to win the events, score in the events and beat Indiana. It is going to be exciting."
Tennessee will look to build off of a strong showing in the Hoosier Open on Dec. 11. UT posted five wins at the Hoosier Open and the Vols combined for 20 top-5 finishes.
Saturday's dual meet renews a dual series against Indiana that was a nearly-annual event from the late 1970s through the 1990s. The Tennessee men are 14-6 all-time against the Hoosiers in dual meets, competing just about every year from 1978 to 1999. The UT women are 9-2 all-time against Indiana in dual meets with all 11 previous duals taking place between 1982 and 1997.
"It is a great opportunity to bring back a tradition that was very much alive for many years here," Sullivan said. "A lot of our alums have a lot of pride in this dual meet and so do Indiana's alums. We are excited to bring the challenge to the team and bring the challenge back to the sport of track and field."
Tennessee Men
Senior thrower Cameron Brown, sophomore sprinters Christian Coleman, Nathan Strother and Malik Elion and freshman sprinter Ari Cogdell will look to build off of impressive showings at last month's Hoosier Open. Brown won the men's weight throw with a distance of 72 feet, 11.25 inches (22.23 meters) on his fifth throw. Strother won the 300m dash in a PR time of 33.67 as Coleman took second with a PR of his own at 33.68. Elion ran a 6.95 60m time in the preliminaries before taking seventh in the finals. Elion also took second in the 200m with a time of 21.87. Cogdell finished third in the 500m with a time of 1:03.37.
The Vols' pole vaulters will make their season debuts on Saturday. Headlining the men's vaulters is All-American senior Jake Blankenship. Blankenship is coming off of fall training and an impressive summer in which he earned bronze at the Pan American Games by clearing a height of 5.40 meters (17 feet, 8.5 inches) and competed at the World Championships in China.
Tennessee Women
Senior sprinter Felicia Brown, junior sprinter Felecia Majors, freshman sprinter DeAndra Greer, sophomore sprinter/jumper Cidae'a Woods, junior jumper Brielyn Rogers, senior thrower Cassie Wertman and freshman thrower Savannah Marlow had outstanding performances at December's Hoosier Open. Brown ran the second-fastest indoor 300m in program history with a 37.12 and Majors ran the seventh-fastest at 37.59. Both ran the first legs of 4x400 relays with Brown's 'A' team taking first place and Majors' 'B' squad taking fourth. Greer ran a 7.55 60m prelims time and took fourth in the event with a 7.57 finals. Woods set a new PR in the long jump at second-place 6.15m (21-6.25). Rogers took second in the triple jump, leaping 12.37m (40-7.00). Wertman won the shot put with a distance of 16.46m (54-0.00) and Marlow took weight throw at 15.48m (50-9.50).
Several of UT's distance runners will make their debuts this week, including All-American Chelsea Blaase, who is coming off of an outstanding cross country season in which she finished 14th at the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Championship to earn All-America honors for the second-straight year.
Track Events
| Start Time (ET) | Event | Competing For Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| 12 p.m. | Women's 60m | Kali Davis-White, Maia McCoy, DeAndra Greer |
| 12:05 p.m. | Men's 60m | Christian Coleman, Malik Elion |
| 12:15 p.m. | Women's 60m Hurdles | Cidae'a Woods, LaChyna Roe, Brielyn Rogers |
| 1:15 p.m. | Women's Mile | Chelsea Blaase, Caroline Duer, Peighton Meske |
| 1:25 p.m. | Men's Mile | Zach Long, Tyler Woodrome |
| 1:35 p.m. | Women's 400m | Felecia Majors, Lenysse Dyer, Layla White, London Freeland |
| 1:40 p.m. | Men's 400m | Nathan Strother, Ari Cogdell, Darryl Harris |
| 2 p.m. | Men's 800m | Antonio Carter |
| 2:10 p.m. | Women's 200m | Felicia Brown, Kali Davis-White, Maia McCoy, DeAndra Greer, London Freeland |
| 2:20 p.m. | Men's 200m | Christian Coleman, Nathan Strother, Malik Elion |
| 2:30 p.m. | Women's 3000m | Chelsea Blaase, Lindsey Bowman, Emma Reed, Jessica Rizor, Julia Rizor |
| 2:45 p.m. | Men's 3000m | Austin Whitelaw, Jack Little, Zach Long, Tyler Woodrome |
| 3 p.m. | Women's 4x400m | A & B Teams |
| 3:10 p.m. | Men's 4x400m | A Team |
Field Events
| Start Time (ET) | Event | Competing For Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| 12 p.m. | Women's Long Jump | Cidae'a Woods, Chyna Ries, LaChyna Roe, Brielyn Rogers |
| 12 p.m. | Women's Pole Vault | Kristen Denk, Morgan Allen |
| 12 p.m. | Women's Weight Throw | Savannah Marlow, Danielle Holdren |
| 12:45 p.m. | Men's Long Jump | Weldon Wright, Darryl Harris |
| 12:45 p.m. | Men's Weight Throw | Cameron Brown, Matthew Zajac, Seth Whitener |
| 1:30 p.m. | Men's Pole Vault | Jake Blankenship, Ocean Walters-Carlson, Nate Harper |
| 1:45 p.m. | Men's High Jump | Wesley Edwards, Josh Brennan |
| 1:45 p.m. | Women's Shot Put | Cassie Wertman, Savannah Marlow |
| 1:45 p.m. | Women's Triple Jump | Brielyn Rogers, LaChyna Roe, Cidae'a Woods |
| 2:30 p.m. | Men's Shot Put | Cameron Brown, Matthew Zajac, Seth Whitener |
| 2:30 p.m. | Women's High Jump | LaChyna Roe, Cidae'a Woods, Brielyn Rogers |
| 2:30 p.m. | Men's Triple Jump | Weldon Wright |
