University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols Earn Three Podium Finishes On Final Day of NCAA Indoor Championships
March 15, 2025 | Track & Field
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Tennessee track & field rounded out the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday with three podium finishes for the women's squad, including two top-eight placements in the 60-meter hurdles final and a fourth-place outing in the 4x400-meter relay. With those scoring efforts, the Lady Vols finished tied for 15th in the team standings with 14 points.
Placing 15th on the women's side, the Lady Vols secured their third consecutive top-20 finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships under director and head coach of track & field Duane Ross – the best three-year such stretch for the program since 2009-11. Ross' women's squad finished tied for 17th in 2024 and tied for seventh in 2023.
Senior standouts Layla Anderson and Kiara Smith kicked off day two at the Virginia Beach Sports Center lining up side-by-side for the 60-meter hurdles final. The duo ultimately finished fifth and seventh with times of 8.03 and 8.14 seconds, respectively – giving Tennessee its first pair of NCAA scorers in the event since 2007. Anderson and Smith tallied six points for UT's point total, setting up the 4x400-meter relay with a chance to clinch another top-20 finish for the Big Orange.
In the final event of the women's portion of the meet, Tennessee stormed to a school-record time of 3:27.25 in the women's 4x400-meter relay to finish fourth in the nation. Cydney Wright, Brianna White, Esther Joseph and Javonya Valcourt helped UT earn its best finish in the event since winning the indoor national title in 2012.
ALL-AMERICA TRACKER: Six Tennessee athletes etched their names in the record book as First Team All-Americans on Saturday. Top eight finishers in each event final are recognized as First Team All-Americans.
Placing 15th on the women's side, the Lady Vols secured their third consecutive top-20 finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships under director and head coach of track & field Duane Ross – the best three-year such stretch for the program since 2009-11. Ross' women's squad finished tied for 17th in 2024 and tied for seventh in 2023.
Senior standouts Layla Anderson and Kiara Smith kicked off day two at the Virginia Beach Sports Center lining up side-by-side for the 60-meter hurdles final. The duo ultimately finished fifth and seventh with times of 8.03 and 8.14 seconds, respectively – giving Tennessee its first pair of NCAA scorers in the event since 2007. Anderson and Smith tallied six points for UT's point total, setting up the 4x400-meter relay with a chance to clinch another top-20 finish for the Big Orange.
In the final event of the women's portion of the meet, Tennessee stormed to a school-record time of 3:27.25 in the women's 4x400-meter relay to finish fourth in the nation. Cydney Wright, Brianna White, Esther Joseph and Javonya Valcourt helped UT earn its best finish in the event since winning the indoor national title in 2012.
ALL-AMERICA TRACKER: Six Tennessee athletes etched their names in the record book as First Team All-Americans on Saturday. Top eight finishers in each event final are recognized as First Team All-Americans.
- Layla Anderson – Women's 60m Hurdles – 5th (8.03)
- Kiara Smith – Women's 60m Hurdles – 7th (8.14)
- Esther Joseph – Women's 4x400m Relay – 4th (3:27.25)
- Javonya Valcourt – Women's 4x400m Relay – 4th (3:27.25)
- Brianna White – Women's 4x400m Relay - 4th (3:27.25)
- Cydney Wright – Women's 4x400m Relay – 4th (3:27.25)
Players Mentioned
Hurdles
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Sprints
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Sprints
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