University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Tyson Invitational
Coleman, Brown, Blaase Highlight Vols' Big Friday at 2 Meets
February 12, 2016 | Track & Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Christian Coleman, Cameron Brown and Chelsea Blaase posted big wins on Friday as Tennessee shined at both the Tyson Invitational and the Husky Classic.
At Randal Tyson Track Complex in Fayetteville, Coleman won the men's 60 meters with a fast finals time of 6.55. Cameron Brown dominated the men's weight throw, winning with a season-best throw of 75-0.00 (22.86 meters). He also had a throw of over 79 feet that did not count due to a foot foul.
"The crew in Arkansas seems to be really rising to the occasion with some great marks around the board," Tennessee director of track & field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "I'm very proud of Christian Coleman for driving and competing against the best and coming out the champ. It was a phenomenal breakthrough on Nathan Strother to run 46.25, which is a great performance. We had great racing out of Lenysse Dyer with a personal best. I'm excited to hear the details of Cameron Brown's competition. He opened up with some big throws early, which is one of his goals. Great stuff from Kali Davis-White, Felicia Brown and Felecia Majors as they compete and gain the repertoire of competition. I couldn't be more proud of the crew in Arkansas and Chelsea in Seattle representing Tennessee."
Blaase won her Husky Classic 5000m race at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Wash., with a personal-best time of 15:43.81 that ranks third in the nation.
"Chelsea had a great race today," Sullivan said. "She was very patient and rode with the crowd through the first two miles. She took the lead and then there at the end with 600 meters to go she just broke from the field and ran away with it. It was a very well-executed race and extremely competitive with great composure on her part. She did a super job and we are very proud of her."
Tennessee is back in action on Saturday, starting a busy day at the Tyson Invitational with Wesley Edwards competing in the men's high jump at 12 p.m. CT. SEC Network + (aka the ESPN app) will live stream Saturday's Tyson Invitational events from 2:30-5 p.m. CT.
UT will compete in two events out at the Husky Classic on Saturday with Austin Whitelaw running the men's 3000 meters at 1:30 p.m. PT and Zach Long and Tyler Woodrome competing in the men's mile at 2:40 p.m. PT.
Tennessee Men
Coleman's 6.55 winning time in the Tyson Invitational men's 60-meter final was one hundredth of his career-best, nation-leading time of 6.54 from last week's Virginia Tech "Doc Hale" Elite Meet. He ran the 60 meters three times on Friday and got faster with each race.
Nathan Strother clocked a career-best 46.25 in the men's 400m invitational race. Strother took second place after a late kick down the home stretch to catch LSU's Michael Cherry, who beat him by seven thousandths of a second. Strother's 46.25 is tied for the second-best mark in the nation.
Ari Cogdell was one of the first Vols to see action on Friday and he clocked a personal-best 47.18 in the men's 400 meter open race, taking fifth place.
Brown's winning weight throw of 75-0.00 (22.86 meters) is the second-best in the nation this year. It is also the second-best of his career after his career-best throw of 76-8.50 (23.38m), which he set at the 2015 "Doc Hale" Elite Meet.
Tennessee Women
Blaase's 15:43.81 is the fastest indoor 5000 meters by a Tennessee woman since Jackie Areson set the school record at 15:39.81 at the 2011 Husky Classic at Dempsey Indoor.
Felicia Brown and Kali Davis-White continued to be Tennessee's dynamic duo in the sprints. Both advanced out of the prelims and both clocked a 7.35 in the semifinals. Brown edged Davis-White by six thousandths of a second in the semifinals to take the last spot in the finals.
Lenysse Dyer was opened the day for Tennessee with an outstanding performance in the 400 meters. She ran a personal-best 53.93 and took second place.
Felecia Majors clocked a season-best 53.07 in the 400-meter invitational race to take 12th place.
Cidae'a Woods took fourth in the long jump with a leap of 6.13m (20-1.50).
Tyson Invitational: Tennessee Men
FRIDAY
60m Prelims: 4. Christian Coleman, 6.70Q; 45. Malik Elion, 6.99
60m Semifinals: 1. Christian Coleman, 6.57Q
60m Finals: 1. Christian Coleman, 6.55
400m: 5. Ari Cogdell, 47.18!
400m Invitational: 2. Nathan Strother, 46.25!
800m: 11. Antonio Carter, 1:52.79
Long Jump: 16. Mustaqeem Williams, 6.98m! (22-11.00)
Weight Throw: 1. Cameron Brown, 22.86m (75-0.00); 10. Seth Whitener, 18.10m (59-4.75); Matthew Zajac, foul
Tyson Invitational: Tennessee Women
FRIDAY
60m Prelims: 3. Felicia Brown, 7.31Q; 14. Kali Davis-White, 7.42q; 48. DeAndra Greer, 7.70; 58. Maia McCoy, 7.79
60m Semifinals: 8. Felicia Brown, 7.35q; 9. Kali Davis-White, 7.35
60m Finals: 8. Felicia Brown, 7.37
400m: 2. Lenysse Dyer, 53.93!; 23. Layla White, 55.61
400m Invitational: 12. Felecia Majors, 53.07
Long Jump: 4. Cidae'a Woods, 6.13m (20-1.50); 14. Chyna Ries, 5.75m (18-10.50)
Weight Throw: 17. Savannah Marlow, 16.61m (54-6.00)
Husky Classic: Tennessee Women
FRIDAY
5000m: 1. Chelsea Blaase, 15:43.81!
! - 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
Here's @ChelseaBlaase_1 the #HuskyClassic 5000m champ! 15:43.81! Go Chels! 🍊🍊🍊 pic.twitter.com/nxf17vW0Rs
-- UT Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) February 13, 2016
CONGRATS to @nate_strother on clocking a PR 46.25 in the #TysonInvitational 400m Invitational,finishing 2nd by .007! pic.twitter.com/QPN4WXd1dS
-- UT Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) February 13, 2016
Another look at @__coleman WINNING the 60m Final at the #TysonInvitational in 6.55! ⚡⚡⚡ pic.twitter.com/dBFknog46O
-- UT Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) February 13, 2016
Christian Coleman WINS the 60m Final at the #TysonInvitational - 6.55!! ⚡️⚡️⚡️ pic.twitter.com/VNmzZN0xuw
-- UT Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) February 13, 2016
Here's Ari Cogdell running a PR 47.18 in the 400m in a fast 1st heat at the #TysonInvitational 💨💨💨 @yungkreeper pic.twitter.com/SRlvUq1T0s
-- UT Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) February 12, 2016
Here's Lenysse Dyer running a PR 53.93 in the 400m! 💨💨💨 pic.twitter.com/hY2nghC0rH
-- UT Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) February 12, 2016
