University of Tennessee Athletics
Dickie Becomes UT's First Indoor 5000m All-American
March 09, 2001 | Women's Track
Bennett Struggles In 800m Prelims, Does Not Advance To Finals
 Dickie Photo Gallery |
Dickie, from Grand Blanc, Mich., recorded a personal best clocking of 16:28.19 to become the 72nd All-American in UT women's track and field history. Her time was 48/100 of a second faster than her qualifying time at the Cannon IV Classic on Feb. 10 and stands as the third-best indoor mark ever by a Lady Vol at 5000m. Jodie Hughes of Colorado claimed the title in 16:08.61.
"I'm thrilled that she was able to compete the way she did tonight," said UT distance coach Rodney Rothoff. "She ran a very gutsy race, which is indicative of the attitude she has. She is only going to get better with experience, and I look forward to seeing how she develops in the future"
Dickie, who entered the competition ranked 13th out of 17 competitors, joined a group that went out very fast -- too fast as it turned out. A couple of runners, including favorite Lilli Kleinmann of Arkansas and Erica Palmer of Wisconsin were greatly affected by the pace. So much so that Palmer could not continue and Kleinmann faded to 10th. Dickie, meanwhile, kept on pushing herself through the final four laps as the pain began to intensify and picked up an All-America certificate to match the one she earned in cross country during the fall.
"Sharon went out very fast - probably faster than what she was able to handle at this point in her training," Rothoff said. "She was at 9:39 at the 3000m mark, which is just three seconds off her PR at that distance, so that tells you what kind of pace it was. But, Sharon was tough throughout the race and never gave up. I'm very proud of her effort tonight."
The finish gave Tennessee a point in the team scoring, breaking a one-year drought at the indoor meet. It also continued Dickie's amazing comeback from a hip injury that sidelined her for all of last season. Because of the medical condition, she received a redshirt in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track during the 1999-2000 school year.
Earlier in the day, teammate Kameisha Bennett had a rough outing in the 800-meter prelims and saw her indoor campaign end in disappointing fashion. The sophomore from Dayton, Ohio, struggled to a seventh-place finish in section two with a time of 2:20.49 and did not advance to Saturday's finals. Aimee Teteris, a junior from Rice was the top qualifier, checking in at 2:06.99 in heat one.
Still, the 2001 indoor season was a successful venture for the Meadowdale High School product, as she notched four indoor personal bests along the way, including a 2:07.09 mark last weekend to qualify for the national meet. That pace shot her to number four on the UT all-time 800m performers list. Outdoors, Bennett owns a top time of 2:09.36, a result she charted in taking fifth at the 2000 SEC Championships.
"Kameisha's lack of experience at the national meet showed itself today," Rothoff said. "The positive we can take away from this is that she did have an opportunity be here and know what this meet is all about. That experience will definitely help her as she enters the outdoor part of the schedule. This also does not change the fact that she is a different athlete now than she was when she started this season."
The Lady Volunteers won't waste any time before beginning the outdoor portion of their schedule. The squad will travel to Starkville, Miss., on March 17 for a Southeastern Conference Quad meet against host Mississippi State, Alabama and Vanderbilt.
