University of Tennessee Athletics
SEC Outdoor Championships Preview
May 10, 2016 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., this week to compete in the 2016 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships from May 12-14 at Sam Bailey Stadium.
UT is coming off of a week of training following last month's 2016 Penn Relays, which featured the women's 4x200 of Lenysse Dyer, Kali Davis-White, Felecia Majors and Felicia Brown capturing Tennessee's first relay title at Franklin Field since 2012.
The 2016 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will feature a live online video broadcast on SEC Network + (WatchESPN) on Friday from 7:30 p.m. ET to 11:05 p.m. ET and on Saturday from 4 p.m. ET to 7:50 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will carry a rebroadcast of the SEC Championships on Sunday, May 15, from 3 p.m. ET to 5 p.m. ET.
The action will start on Thursday at noon ET with Maya Neal competing in four events of the women's heptathlon. Tennessee has five entries in the women's 200-meter prelims at 2:40 p.m. ET, including Felicia Brown, who leads the nation with a time of 22.55, and Kali Davis-White, who ranks sixth in the SEC with a 22.86. Christian Coleman headlines UT's three entries in the men's 200-meter prelims at 3:05 p.m. ET. Coleman ranks fourth in the league with a 200-meter time of 20.45.
Thursday concludes with a pair of late-night 10Ks. Chelsea Blaase will run in the women's 10,000 meters at 10:30 p.m. ET and she owns the SEC's second-fastest time of 32:08.39. Austin Whitelaw will run in the men's 10,000 meters at 11:10 p.m. ET.
Friday will feature several field events with the sprints closing things out in the evening. Maria Jimenez ranks sixth in the SEC in the women's javelin - which starts at 4 p.m. ET - with a throw of 50.52 meters (165-9). Cassie Wertman is third in the conference in the women's shot put (17.11 meters/56-1.75) and will vie for an SEC title starting at 8:30 p.m. ET. Kyle Quinn will compete in the men's javelin at 9:35 p.m. ET. His season-best javelin throw of 73.16 meters (240-0) ranks sixth the SEC.
Felecia Majors, who ranks fifth in the league with a time of 52.19, leads a talented UT group in the women's 400 meters on Thursday at 8:55 p.m. ET. Nathan Strother, who is 11th in the SEC at 46.05, and Ari Cogdell will run in the men's 400 meters at 9:20 p.m. ET. The night concludes with the 100 meters starting at 9:45 p.m. ET. On the women's side, Davis-White enters with UT's top time of 11.18 (eighth in the SEC). Coleman owns the second-fastest men's 100 meters in the conference at 10.11.
The women's triple jump (12:35 p.m. ET) and the men's pole vault (12:40 p.m. ET) open UT's final day of competition on Saturday. Jake Blankenship will look to defend his SEC outdoor pole vault title. He won the 2015 league title with a height of 5.56 meters (18-2.75). Matthew Zajac owns the seventh-best men's discus mark in the SEC at 55.63 meters (182-6) and competes at 4:45 p.m. ET.
Distance standouts Blaase and Whitelaw are slated to compete in their respective 5,000-meter races starting at 6:50 p.m. ET. Blaase ranks seventh in the league on the women's side with a time of 16:13.22 and Whitelaw is seventh on the men's side with a 13.58.54.
Tennessee's relay squads, which have been strong all spring, will compete on Saturday. The 4x100s start racing at 4 p.m. ET and the 4x400s start at 7:25 p.m. ET. The UT women's 4x400 of Lenysse Dyer, Brown, Layla White and Felecia Majors rank fourth in the league with a time of 3:30.73.
2016 SEC Outdoor Championships Schedule
All times listed are Central Time
THURSDAY, MAY 12
11 a.m. - Women's 100mH HEP: Maya Neal
11:45 a.m. - Women's High Jump HEP: Maya Neal
1:20 p.m. - Men's 800m Prelim: Zach Long, Tyler Woodrome
1:40 p.m. - Women's 200m Prelim: Felicia Brown, Kali Davis-White, Felecia Majors, Maia McCoy, DeAndra Greer
1:45 p.m. - Women's Shot Put HEP: Maya Neal
2:05 p.m. - Men's 200m Prelim: Christian Coleman, Mustaqeem Williams, Malik Elion
3:55 p.m. - Women's 200m HEP: Maya Neal
4 p.m. - Women's Hammer: Candice Butler, Savannah Marlow
7 p.m. - Men's Hammer: Cameron Brown, Seth Whitener, Matthew Zajac
9:30 p.m. - Women's 10,000m: Chelsea Blaase
10:10 p.m. - Men's 10,000m: Austin Whitelaw
FRIDAY, MAY 13
9 a.m. - Women's Long Jump HEP: Maya Neal
10:15 a.m. - Women's Javelin HEP: Maya Neal
12:15 p.m. - Women's 800m HEP: Maya Neal
2 p.m. - Women's Long Jump: Cidae'a Woods
3 p.m. - Women's Javelin: Maria Jimenez
6:30 p.m. - Men's Long Jump: Mustaqeem Williams
7:30 p.m. - Women's Shot Put: Cassie Wertman
7:30 p.m. - Men's 1,500m: Zach Long, Tyler Woodrome
7:55 p.m. - Women's 400m: Felecia Majors, Lenysse Dyer, Layla White
8:20 p.m. - Men's 400m: Nathan Strother, Ari Cogdell
8:35 p.m. - Men's Javelin: Kyle Quinn
8:45 p.m. - Women's 100m: Kali Davis-White, Felicia Brown, DeAndra Greer, Maia McCoy
9:10 p.m. - Men's 100m: Christian Coleman, Mustaqeem Williams, Malik Elion
SATURDAY, MAY 14
11:35 a.m. - Women's Triple Jump: Brielyn Rogers, Cidae'a Woods, LaChyna Roe
11:40 a.m. - Men's Pole Vault: Jake Blankenship, Tyler Porter, Ocean Walters-Carlson
3 p.m. - Women's 4x100: Tennessee A
3:10 p.m. - Men's 4x100: Tennessee A
3:35 p.m. - Women's Pole Vault: Kristen Denk, Erin Champion
3:45 p.m. - Men's Discus: Matthew Zajac
4 p.m. - Men's High Jump: Wesley Edwards
5:40 p.m. - Women's 5,000m: Chelsea Blaase, Jessica Rizor
6 p.m. - Men's 5,000m: Austin Whitelaw, Jack Little, Zach Long, Tyler Woodrome
6:25 p.m. - Women's 4x400m: Tennessee A
6:35 p.m. - Men's 4x400m: Tennessee A
