BIG ORANGE CONCLUDES ACTION IN THE BIG APPLE
NEW
YORK – Competing in the 12th edition of the historic Armory Collegiate
Invitational in New York City, the Vol track & field squad closed
the nation’s biggest and best indoor meet by tying an elusive school
record and posting five top-three finishes on Saturday at The Armory.
“We
had our best competition as far as the opponents we were up against,
and came out of the meet with several personal records and season-best
performances,” said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country J.J.
Clark. “The men finished fourth overall in the meet. We weren’t really
watching over the score, but it’s very significant due to how
high-caliber this meet is. We’ll keep focused on the task at hand,
which is to keep getting better meet by meet in order to get ready for
the championship portion of the season.”
A day
after redshirt freshman Austin Whitelaw broke a UT indoor rookie record
in the men’s 5,000-meter at the New Balance Track Center, freshman pole
vaulter Jacob Blankenship tied a legendary UT mark.
Blankenship,
who has won the event in two meets entering the weekend, took first
place in the 19-man championship field with a vault of 18-feet,
1/2-inches (5.50m) on his second attempt. That mark ties Olympic silver
medalist and former Vol Lawrence Johnson, who reached the height his
freshman season in 1993. With that vault, Blankenship currently ranks
fourth in the nation, second in the Southeastern Conference and is tied
for third in the Vols’ all-time indoor pole vault records.
“It’s
the third time we’ve had a freshman record with Jake today, Austin
yesterday and Cameron earlier in the season,” said Clark. We also go
PRs from Kyle (Walter) and Stephen (Derlath) today and that’s how we’ll
keep building. It’s a process and we’re taking the steps you have to
take in order to be successful. We’ve got the ball rolling and we’re
going to keep adding to it.”
Junior Chase Brannon
took second place in the event after eclipsing a personal-record 17-8.5
(5.40m) on his first attempt. His mark also ranks in the top 10 in the
nation this season. Brannon’s classmate Tyler Porter also notched a PR
in the event, finishing sixth with a vault of 17-0.75, while sophomore
Michael Maira placed third in the college section with a career-best
vault of 16-4.75.
“The vaulters really had a solid
performance between Jake, Chase and Michael, who had two PRs today,”
Clark said. “Our throwers were solid this weekend as well and have been
consistent throughout several weeks now.”
The Vols
also starred on the oval on Saturday, as redshirt freshman Kyle Walter
and sophomore Stephen Derlath put forth personal-best efforts to place
first and second in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter, respectively. Walter
kicked it in gear on the final lap of the 3K to win the event in 8
minutes, 25.05 seconds. Derlath placed second in the 5K, crossing the
line in 14:38.16.
Vol sprinters Jarael Nelvis,
Arnez Hardnick and Jamol James also won their 200-meter preliminary
heats, with Nelvis posting the fifth-best time to advance to the
finals. The junior and Memphis native also finished fifth in the finals
of the event with a time of 21.42.
UT throwers
Cameron Brown and Drew Thomas notched top-10 marks in 50-man weight
throw field. Brown and Thomas finished sixth and ninth, respectively.
Senior
Nijgia Snapp highlighted the Lady Vols afternoon with a fourth-place
finish in a loaded 800m field. Snapp, an All-American in the event,
navigated the banked track in 2:07.24. Her mark currently ranks 15th in
the nation and third in the SEC. Fellow indoor All-American Kianna Ruff
finished seventh in the championship 800m with a time of 2:08.24.
Junior
Amber Zimmerman posted the best mile time of her career on Saturday and
the top mark in the event for the Lady Vols the season, finishing sixth
at the New Balance Track Center with a blazing time of 4:47.13.
Zimmerman currently ranks eighth in the SEC in the event. New York
native Alexis Panisse finished 18th in the mile with a time of 4:55.53.
“On
the women’s side, it’s similar with a meet full of season-best marks.
Amber had a great run for a person-best, Kelsey Kane also ran well in
the mile – just off her personal-best. These are all stepping stones we
have to take to get where we want to go.
“On
Friday, Erin Champion had a couple PRs in the women’s pole vault and
Jamol also tied his personal-best yesterday in the 60m so we’re
definitely moving in the right direction,” said Clark. “We really just
had good movement throughout the entire meet.”
The
Big Orange track & field team is back in action next week when it
splits up and travels to both Fayetteville, Ark., and Seattle, Wash.
The squad will compete in the Tyson Invitational at the University of
Arkansas and the Flotrack Husky Classic at the University of Washington.
VOL RESULTS AT THE ARMORY COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
Saturday
Championship
Pole Vault: 1. Jacob Blankenship, 18-0.5/5.50m!fr*; 2. Chase Brannon,
17-8.5/5.40m!; T-6. Tyler Porter, 17-0.75/5.20m!
College 3,000m: 1. Kyle Walter, 8:25.05!b
College 5,000m: 2. Stephen Derlath, 14:38.16!b
College Pole Vault: 3. Michael Maira, 16-4.75/5.00m!
Championship 200m Finals: 5. Jarael Nelvis, 21.42b
Championship
Weight Throw: 6. Cameron Brown, 60-7.25/18.47m; 9. Drew Thomas,
58-10.25/17.94m; 28. Tavis Bailey, 52-2.5/15.91m; 37. Deon McAdoo,
49-1.5/14.47m
Championship 800: 8. Antonio Carter, 1:52.48!b
Championship 4x400m Relay: 14. Jarael Nelvis / Antonio Carter / Terrance Livingston / Terry Benson, 3:16.54b
College Mile: 25. Jeremy Dickie, 4:17.59b; 26. Chris Bodary, 4:17.76b
College 800m: 27. Terrance Livingston, 1:55.96!b
Championship
200m Prelims: adv. Jarael Nelvis, 21.50b/Ht. 7, 1st (5th); dna. Arnez
Hardnick, 21.77b/Ht. 8, 1st (16th); dna. Jamol James, 21.97b/ Ht. 10,
1st (21st)
Friday
Championship 5,000m: 3. Austin Whitelaw, 14:18.11!frb
Championship Shot Put: 4. Matthew Hoty, 59-3.5/18.07m; 7. Tavis Bailey, 56-4.75/17.19m
Championship 60m Finals: 5. Jamol James, 6.72!/Ht. 1, 1st
Championship Distance Medley Relay: 7. Jordan Chaney / Jarael Nelvis / Terrance Livingston / Peter Okwera, 9:56.75b
Championship 60m Prelims: adv. Jamol James, 6.81 (12th); dna. Arnez Hardnick, 6.90 (25th)
Championship 60m Hurdles Prelims: dna. Terry Benson, 8.17 (30th)
LADY VOL RESULTS AT THE ARMORY COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
Saturday
Championship 800m: 4. Nijgia Snapp, 2:07.24b; 7. Kianna Ruff, 2:08.24
Championship Mile: 6. Amber Zimmerman, 4:47.13!b; 18. Alexis Panisse, 4:55.53b
Championship 4x400m Relay: 7. Kianna Ruff / Martinique Octave / Nijgia Snapp / Felicia Brown, 3:40.97b
College Mile: 8. Kelsey Kane, 4:54.59b
College Triple Jump: 9. Allison Outerbridge, 39-1/11.91m; 14. Kasha McDougald, 38-6/11.73m!
Championship 200m Finals: 12. Felicia Brown, 24.15b
Championship Weight Throw: 18. Jessie Harrison, 56-7.25/17.24m
Championship
200m Prelims: adv. Felicia Brown, 24.12!bp/Ht. 4, 1st (6th); dna.
Martinique Octave, 24.88bp (31st); dna. Kia Jackson, 25.47bp (47th)
Friday
Championship Pole Vault: T-3. Linda Hadfield, 13-5.25/4.10m
College Pole Vault: 5. Erin Champion, 12-5.5/3.80m
Championship Shot Put: 5. Cassie Wertman, 51-10.5/15.81m!; 17. Aslynn Halvorson, 46-7.25/14.20m
Championship Distance Medley Relay: 8. Alexis Panisse / Martinique Octave / Brittney Jackson / Hannah Davidson, 11:24.74b
College Long Jump: 36. Kia Jackson, 17-3.25/5.26m
Championship 60m Prelims: dna. Kia Jackson, 7.58 (26th); dna. Martinique Octave, 7.66 (39th)
Championship 60m Hurdles Prelims: dna. Kasha McDougald, 8.83! (37th); dna. Bianca Blair, 8.88! (42nd)
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