University of Tennessee Athletics
HAPPY HOMECOMING FOR LADY VOLS' COOK AT VIRGINIA TECH
February 10, 2002 | Women's Track
Feb. 10, 2002
BLACKSBURG, Va.
Running on the same track where she won the Virginia indoor state title in the 500 meters, University of Tennessee freshman Nicole Cook once again came through with a huge performance at Rector Field House. The Petersburg native cruised to a career best time of 2:08.27 to claim victory in the 800m and notch an NCAA provisional qualifying time Saturday afternoon at the Virginia Tech Challenge in Blacksburg.
Cook improved her personal best three seconds from a 2:11.36 pace she ran at the Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 12 and rose from 13th to seventh on UT's all-time performers list in that event. Additionally, she surpassed junior Kameisha Bennett's 2:09.97 clocking to seize the team's top time at that distance in 2002 and moved to fourth in the Southeastern Conference rankings and number 10 nationally.
Bennett was also supposed to run the 800 meters, but she became ill on Friday night and was unable to compete on Saturday. Two other Lady Vols did compete, however, as freshman Monique Berarducci (Knoxville, Tenn.) and junior Amber Ayub (Knoxville, Tenn.) posted personal bests in 2:22.62 and 2:23.17, respectively.
Cook was not the only rookie to turn in an inspired effort. Dee Dee Trotter (Decatur, Ga.) also delivered a noteworthy performance, zooming to third place and booking an NCAA provisional in the 200m with a lifetime best 23.94 and taking sixth in the long jump with a PR of 19-4.75. Those results catapulted her to fifth on the Tennessee all-time performers list in the 200m and 10th in the long jump.
For Trotter, her 200m tally was the second best ever for a UT rookie, falling only behind Erica Witter's 1996 reading of 23.82. Equally as impressive, she is in her first year of concentrating on the long jump and has increased her mark from 17-11.75 at the beginning of the year to today's effort. She has been training under the tutelage of volunteer assistant coach Charlie Simpkins, a two-time Olympian and the 1992 silver medalist in the triple jump.
In the weight throw, senior Diane Slinden (Menomonie, Wis.) uncorked a school record heave of 55-0 to finish fourth against a strong field. Her performance erased the previous mark of 53-3.50 that she posted at a last chance meet in Bloomington, Ind., on March 3, 2000. Slinden came back later in the shot put and managed a fifth-place effort of 44-8.75.
With rookie provisional qualifer Toyin Olupona (Orillia, Canada) absent due to a hamstring injury, fellow freshman Karla Marshall (Detroit, Mich.) stepped it up in the 60m dash, qualifying for the finals in 7.60, taking third in a career best 7.57 and rising to 10th on the Lady Vols' all-time performers list. She was joined in the finals by seniors Aoife Hearne (Waterford, Ireland) and Samantha Coulson (Roswell, Ga.), who placed 10th and 11th, respectively, in 7.76 and 7.84.
"I am very pleased with the number of PRs and provisional qualifiers we had at this meet," UT Head Coach Myrtle Ferguson said. "Topping that off were the efforts of Nicole, Dee Dee and Diane, who joined Karla Marshall in posting marks on the top ten performers lists. It is great to see so many of our athletes joining the ranks of the standouts who have come before them.
"We weren't able to improve our 4x400m qualifying time because of Kameisha's illness, so we will have to work on that later. But, in all of the areas, we are beginning to see consistency. It was certainly the kind of meet we wanted to have as we turn our thoughts toward the SEC Indoor Championship in two weeks."
In the final event of the meet, pole vaulter Christie Elwin (Adelaide, Australia) cleared 12-5.50 for the fourth time in five meets this season to claim runner-up honors. The junior attempted 12-11.50 but was unable to clear it, and thus her school record remains at 12-8. Junior Mandy Bergey (Hillsboro, Ore.) successfully sailed over 11-5.75 to take fourth, while freshman Kendra Rhyne (Andersonville, Tenn.) finished ninth at 10-6.
Sophomore Jessica Southers (Ashland, Ky.) had the best run of the day in the longer distances, taking seventh with a personal best time of 10:07.42 to demolish her old mark of 10:27.01. Joining her in the 3K were freshman Elizabeth McCalley (Knoxville, Tenn.) in 10th in a PR 10:29.56 and sophomore Christy Baird (Knoxville, Tenn.) in 12th at 10:38.59.
In the mile run, Tennessee also had solid performances from Baird and McCalley, as the pair finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in 5:04.39 and 5:06.77. Baird, who has battled back after redshirting last season due to a hip injury, was just two seconds off her career best. Sophomore Erin Anderson (Kent, Ohio) also ran, finishing 16th in 5:18.54.
In other sprinting and jumping top ten results, freshman Antoinette Gorham was ninth in the 400 meters, navigating the distance in 57.43, and Christina Billings was 10th in the long jump at 18-0. With Bennett out of action, UT pieced together a pair of 4x400m relay combinations. The quartet of Gorham, Cook, Ayub and Berarducci took third in 3:54.11, while the tandem of Coulson, Hearne, Marshall and Billings was sixth in 4:02.52.
The Lady Vols will be back in action on Friday, as they join the UT men's team in hosting the Tennessee Indoor Invitational at the Stokely Athletics Center. Women's field events get underway at 12:30 p.m. with the weight throw. Running events are slated to begin at 5 p.m.
| EVENT (NCAA QUALIFYING MARKS) | ||
| Long Jump (Auto: 6.40, Prov: 6.10) 10:00 a.m. | ||
| 6th | Dee Dee Trotter | 19-4.75/5.91m! |
| 10th | Christina Billings | 18-0/5.49m |
| 60m Pre. (Auto: 7.30, Prov: 7.44) 11:20 a.m. | ||
| 7.60p | Karla Marshall | Advanced/3rd fastest |
| 7.78p | Aoife Hearne | Advanced/9th fastest |
| 7.92p | Samantha Coulson | Advanced/12th fastest |
| 60m Fin. (Auto: 7.30, Prov: 7.44) Noon | ||
| 3rd | Karla Marshall | 7.57! |
| 10th | Aoife Hearne | 7.76 |
| 11th | Samantha Coulson | 7.84 |
| Wt. Throw (Auto: 19.50, Prov: 17.70) Noon | ||
| 4th | Diane Slinden | 55-0/16.76m!sr |
| 10th | Janine Tessarzik | 43-2.25/13.16m |
| 12th | Lindsey McFarland | 36-7.75/11.17m |
| Mile (Auto: 4:42.60, Prov: 4:48.50) b 12:20 p.m. | ||
| 9th | Christy Baird | 5:04.39b |
| 10th | Elizabeth McCalley | 5:06.77b! |
| 16th | Erin Anderson | 5:18.54b |
| 400m (Auto: 53.50, Prov: 54.70) b 12:30 p.m. | ||
| 9th | Antoinette Gorham | 57.43b |
| 800m (Auto: 2:06.90, Prov: 2:09.60) b 1:05 p.m. | ||
| 1st | Nicole Cook | 2:08.27!+b |
| 17th | Monique Berarducci | 2:22.62!b |
| 20th | Amber Ayub | 2:23.17!b |
| scratch | Kameisha Bennett | (illness) |
| Shot Put (Auto: 16.10, Prov: 14.90) 1:00 p.m. | ||
| 5th | Diane Slinden | 44-8.75/13.63m |
| 8th | Janine Tessarzik | 41-7/12.67m! |
| 9th | Lindsey McFarland | 41-5.25/12.63m! |
| Pole Vault (Auto: 4.10, Prov: 3.80) 1:00 p.m. | ||
| 2nd | Christie Elwin | 12-5.50 |
| 4th | Mandy Bergey | 11-5.75 |
| 9th | Kendra Rhyne | 10-6 |
| 200m (Auto: 23.50, Prov: 24.05) b 1:30 p.m. | ||
| 3rd | Dee Dee Trotter | 23.94!+b |
| 15th | Aoife Hearne | 25.53!b |
| 16th | Samantha Coulson | 25.59b |
| 18th | Christina Billings | 25.71!b |
| scratch | Karla Marshall | |
| Triple Jump (Auto: 13.15, Prov: 12.55) 1:30 p.m. | ||
| scratch | Jamie Rebella | (injury) |
| 3000m (Auto: 9:23.20, Prov: 9:37.20) b 1:55 p.m. | ||
| 7th | Jessica Southers | 10:07.42!b |
| 10th | Elizabeth McCalley | 10:29.56!b |
| 12th | Christy Baird | 10:38.59b |
| DMR (Auto: 11:19.00: Prov: 11:36.00) b 2:35 p.m. | ||
| scratch | ||
| High Jump (Auto: 1.83, Prov: 1.77) 2:30 p.m. | ||
| nh | Kelly Flowers | |
| 4x400mR (Auto: 3:35.80, Prov: 3:41.80) b 3:05 p.m. | ||
| 3rd | Antoinette Gorham/Nicole Cook Amber Ayub/Monique Berarducci | 3:54.11b |
| 6th | Samantha Coulson/Aoife Hearne Karla Marshall/Christina Billings | 4:02.52b |
KEY
b - Banked Track Qualifying Standard
dnr - Did Not Run
f - Facility Record
h - Hand Times
nh - No Height Cleared
p - Prelims
* - NCAA Automatic Qualifier
+ - NCAA Provisional Qualifier
! - Personal Record (Indoors)
^ - Oversized Track Qualifying Standard
sr - School Record (Indoors)
u - Undersized Track Qualifying Standard
