Tuesday, February 09, 2016

Blankenship, Relays Shine At VT Elite Meet

courtesy Tennessee

Tennessee posts 6 more wins on Saturday to finish with 11 for the entire meet

Feb. 6, 2016


 

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Tennessee wrapped the Virginia Tech "Doc Hale" Elite Meet with six more wins on Saturday at Rector Fieldhouse, bringing the Vols' two-day total to 11.
"We had some great performances all through the weekend and we won 11 events," Sullivan said. "We had some people really produce on a high end and we had the opportunity for some of our kids on the developmental end get a piece of the unseeded sections and produce some great stuff too. Top to bottom, I thought we competed very well. In the events that we didn't win, we were in the thick of it, getting second and third. The Tennessee Vols showed up and competed hard and took advantages of the opportunities in front of them." On the men's side, Jake Blankenship took first place in the pole vault with a season-best clearance of 18-9.25 (5.72 meters). Nathan Strother won the 200-meter open race with a PR of 21.68. The UT men's 4x400 team of Ari Cogdell, Christian Coleman, Antonio Carter and Strother won with a time of 3:07.83.
The Tennessee women totaled three first-place finishes on Saturday as well. Felecia Majors won the 200 meters with a season-best time of 23.40. Cassie Wertman won the shot put, throwing 54-1.25 (16.49 meters). The UT women's 4x400 team of Lenysse Dyer, Majors, Layla White and Felicia Brown took first place with a facility-record time of 3:32.70.
Next weekend, Tennessee will compete in both the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash.

Tennessee Men

Blankenship took home the meet's men's MVP honors. His 18-9.25 on Saturday leads the nation and was his best mark since hitting his career best of 19-0.25 at the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. Sullivan said that Blankenship was in top form on Saturday, coming through with a big clearance on his third try to win his event.
"We are really proud of Jake," Sullivan said. "He was awarded the MVP on the men's side of the competition this weekend. Most importantly, he struggled through his month of January and took advantage of turning that around and changing the rhythm of things. He came in with the plan of clearing the bar and beating people."
Strother's 21.68 in the 200 meters beat his previous career best by a hundredth of a second.
The men's 4x400's 3:07.83 is the sixth-fastest time in the nation. Cogdell gave the Vols a great start and Coleman broke the race open with a fast second leg.
Matthew Zajac took fifth place in the shot put with a career-best throw of 52-6.75 (16.02 meters).
The Vols posted two wins on Friday. Christian Coleman ran a personal-best 6.54 in the 60 meters, tying for the fastest time in the nation and tying Justin Gatlin's 2002 mark (second-fastest in UT history). Cameron Brown posted a win in the weight throw with a throw of 72-0.25.

Tennessee Women

Majors' 200-meter winning time of 23.40 ranks eighth in the nation. It was her fastest 200 meters since she clocked a 23.21 at the 2014 SEC Indoor Championships.
The women's 4x400 time of 3:32.70 ranks fifth in Tennessee history and it is UT's fastest time since 2006. That time also ranks third in the nation.
"Coach Hall and Coach Id-Deen have put together some great relay personnel," Sullivan said. "The runners did exactly what we asked of them this weekend. We were very confident that the women could drop down into the 3:33 or 3:32 range and they went out and did that in a great competition with Kentucky. They were really able to run away from Kentucky in the end."
Maia McCoy ran a PR 24.71 in the 200-meter open race, taking 11th place.
Kristen Denk took second place in the pole vault seeded division, clearing a career-best 13-5.25 (4.10 meters). She beat her previous career best by five inches.
Cidae'a Woods enjoyed a new personal best in the triple jump, leaping 40-7.75 (12.39 meters) to top her previous best by 3.50 inches.

Tennessee Men

FRIDAY
60m: 1. Christian Coleman, 6.54!; 10. Malik Elion, 6.94
60m Hurdles: 10. Jalen Hunter, 8.26!
400m Invitational: 4. Ari Cogdell, 47.63!
400m Open: 22. Jalen Hunter, 51.22
800m: 6. Antonio Carter, 1:52.78
Mile: 18. Tyler Woodrome, 4:18.71
Long Jump: 12. Darryl Harris, 6.72m (22-0.75)
Pole Vault Unseeded: 8. Ocean Walters-Carlson, 4.70m (15-5.00); 9. Nate Harper, 4.70m! (15-5.00)
Weight Throw: 1. Cameron Brown, 21.95m (72-0.25); 12. Matthew Zajac, 18.40m (60-4.50); 13. Seth Whitener, 17.95m! (58-10.75)
SATURDAY
200m Open: 1. Nathan Strother, 21.68!; 7. Jalen Hunter, 22.06; 8. Malik Elion, 22.06; 13. Darryl Harris, 22.28
4x400m Relay Invitational:1. Tennessee - Ari Cogdell, Christian Coleman, Antonio Carter, Nathan Strother, 3:07.83
High Jump:10. Wesley Edwards, 1.90m (6-2.75)
Shot Put:5. Matthew Zajac, 16.02m (52-6.75); 10. Seth Whitener, 13.60m (44-7.50)
Pole Vault:1. Jake Blankenship, 5.72m (18-9.25)

Tennessee Women

FRIDAY
60m: 1. Felicia Brown, 7.31; 10. DeAndra Greer, 7.63; 11. Maia McCoy, 7.65
400m Invitational: 3. Lenysse Dyer, 54.67!; 5. Layla White, 54.76!
400m Open: 1. London Freeland, 56.36!
Mile: 37. Peigton Meske, 5:15.11; 40. Emma Reed, 5:17.63; Chelsea Blaase, dns
3000m: 1. Jessica Rizor, 9:58.30!; Julia Rizor, dns
Long Jump: 2. Cidae'a Woods, 6.13m (20-1.50); 7. Chyna Ries, 5.79m (19-0.00); 10. Felecia Majors, 5.55m (18-2.50)
Pole Vault Unseeded: 2. Morgan Allen, 3.85m! (12-7.50)
Weight Throw: 14. Savannah Marlow, 16.60m (54-5.50) SATURDAY
200m Invitational:1. Felecia Majors, 23.40
200m Open:11. Maia McCoy, 24.71; 24. DeAndra Greer, 25.12; 29. London Freeland, 25.20; Lenysse Dyer, dns; Layla White, dns; Cidae'a Woods, dns
4x400m Relay Invitational:1. Tennessee - Lenysse Dyer, Felecia Majors, Layla White, Felicia Brown, 3:32.70f
Pole Vault Seeded:2. Kristen Denk, 4.10m (13-5.25)
Shot Put: 1. Cassie Wertman, 16.49m (54-1.25)
Triple Jump:4. Cidae'a Woods, 12.39m (40-7.75); 6. LaChyna Roe, 12.15m (39-10.50)
! - 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

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