Photo by: Cayce Smith/Tennessee Athletics
Schmitt Sets School Record, UT Collects Three Event Titles At USF Alumni Invite
March 21, 2025 | Track & Field
TAMPA, Fla. – Lady Vol All-American senior Sarah Schmitt broke her own outdoor school record in the women's pole vault en route to one of three event crowns for the Big Orange on Friday as the Tennessee track & field program opened its 2025 outdoor campaign at the USF Alumni Invitational.
Coming off a sixth-place national finish last week at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Schmitt commenced her senior outdoor campaign with a clearance of 4.35 meters (14-3.25), topping her previous program standard by two centimeters. The Midlothian, Virginia, native ranks first in the NCAA early in the 2025 outdoor season.
The Volunteer contingent started strong with a victory in the men's javelin throw from freshman standout Nick Reynolds, who finished first in his collegiate debut after tossing the spear 69.86m (229-2) to shatter his high school PR by nearly 25 feet. The Concord, New Hampshire, product is the top collegiate freshman in 2025 and ranks fourth on the 2025 NCAA Division I leaderboard.
Tennessee's third win of the meet came in the women's 200-meter dash as Lady Vol graduate student Cydney Wright turned in a lifetime-best of 23.08 seconds. Her time ranks atop the NCAA Division I charts for the 2025 outdoor season and comes six days after providing the leadoff leg to UT's fourth-place 4x400-meter relay at the recent NCAA Indoor Championships.
The Vols also boasted the top two collegians in the men's pole vault at USF as Evan Puckett and Cade Gray finished second and third overall, respectively, behind on unattached competitor. The UT duo cleared identical marks of 5.41m (17-9), just one centimeter shy of cracking Tennessee's deep all-time top 10 list for the outdoor pole vault.
Additionally, a pair of Tennessee freshman hammer throwers etched their names on the program's top 10 lists in their outdoor NCAA debuts. Aidan Ifkovits finished fourth at the meet on the men's side with a toss of 63.33m (207-9) for the No. 10 mark in school history, while Donna Douglas achieved a distance of 56.39m (185-0) in her first-ever hammer competition – finishing eighth at the meet and ranking eighth on the all-time Lady Vol charts.
Friday's action on the oval concluded with the men's 200-meter dash, where Deron Dudley led nine Vols with a fourth-place finish in his official Tennessee debut. The graduate student from Wichita, Kansas, clocked in at 20.91 seconds with a slight tailwind (+2.6 m/s) to place second among collegiate athletes at the meet.
Field competition wrapped up with the women's javelin, where sophomore Caley Sosnowski made her Tennessee debut and finished third overall with a heave of 44.54m (146-1). Her mark ranks the Oxford, Florida, native as the No. 10 performer in Lady Vol history.
UT rounds out the opening weekend of outdoor season on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. with the men's high jump, men's discus and women's triple jump. The USF Alumni Invitational will conclude at approximately 4:45 p.m. with the men's 4x400-meter relay.
Coming off a sixth-place national finish last week at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Schmitt commenced her senior outdoor campaign with a clearance of 4.35 meters (14-3.25), topping her previous program standard by two centimeters. The Midlothian, Virginia, native ranks first in the NCAA early in the 2025 outdoor season.
The Volunteer contingent started strong with a victory in the men's javelin throw from freshman standout Nick Reynolds, who finished first in his collegiate debut after tossing the spear 69.86m (229-2) to shatter his high school PR by nearly 25 feet. The Concord, New Hampshire, product is the top collegiate freshman in 2025 and ranks fourth on the 2025 NCAA Division I leaderboard.
Tennessee's third win of the meet came in the women's 200-meter dash as Lady Vol graduate student Cydney Wright turned in a lifetime-best of 23.08 seconds. Her time ranks atop the NCAA Division I charts for the 2025 outdoor season and comes six days after providing the leadoff leg to UT's fourth-place 4x400-meter relay at the recent NCAA Indoor Championships.
The Vols also boasted the top two collegians in the men's pole vault at USF as Evan Puckett and Cade Gray finished second and third overall, respectively, behind on unattached competitor. The UT duo cleared identical marks of 5.41m (17-9), just one centimeter shy of cracking Tennessee's deep all-time top 10 list for the outdoor pole vault.
Additionally, a pair of Tennessee freshman hammer throwers etched their names on the program's top 10 lists in their outdoor NCAA debuts. Aidan Ifkovits finished fourth at the meet on the men's side with a toss of 63.33m (207-9) for the No. 10 mark in school history, while Donna Douglas achieved a distance of 56.39m (185-0) in her first-ever hammer competition – finishing eighth at the meet and ranking eighth on the all-time Lady Vol charts.
Friday's action on the oval concluded with the men's 200-meter dash, where Deron Dudley led nine Vols with a fourth-place finish in his official Tennessee debut. The graduate student from Wichita, Kansas, clocked in at 20.91 seconds with a slight tailwind (+2.6 m/s) to place second among collegiate athletes at the meet.
Field competition wrapped up with the women's javelin, where sophomore Caley Sosnowski made her Tennessee debut and finished third overall with a heave of 44.54m (146-1). Her mark ranks the Oxford, Florida, native as the No. 10 performer in Lady Vol history.
UT rounds out the opening weekend of outdoor season on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. with the men's high jump, men's discus and women's triple jump. The USF Alumni Invitational will conclude at approximately 4:45 p.m. with the men's 4x400-meter relay.
Players Mentioned
Throws
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Sprints
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Pole Vault/Jumps
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Throws
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & FieldEverything Orange S2 | Sarah Schmitt (Track & Field)
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