University of Tennessee Athletics
Harris Leads Sea Ray Decathlon After Day One
April 10, 2002 | Men's Track
April 10, 2002
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Top-ranked Tennessee sent two decathletes with completely different collegiate track and field experiences into the Sea Ray Relays decathlon Wednesday evening on Tom Black Track. While Stephen Harris' and Kevin Yeager's collegiate stories diverge, both enjoyed a strong first day of the decathlon to open the Sea Ray Relays.
Harris leads the field with 4,182 points. The Norcross, Ga., native won the long jump with a season-best 24-6 1/4 leap. Harris also closed out the day with a 48.46 winner in the 400M dash. Harris finished second in the 100M dash in a season-best 10.74, while also taking runner-up honors in the high jump with a 6-8 clearance. Although a bit behind his career-best 4,245-point first day, Harris will look to surpass the 7,500-point ceiling that separates NCAA automatic and provisional qualifiers Thursday.
Although just a junior, Harris stands as a veteran with All-America honors in both his seasons wearing the orange. Harris took runner-up honors in the decathlon with a personal-best score of 7,871 (wind-aided) to help Tennessee secure the 2001 NCAA Outdoor title. As a freshman, Harris' fourth-place, 7,651-point effort stands as the best ever by a rookie at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Yeager accumulated 3,770 points to hold sixth after a solid first day. Yeager notched career bests in the 400M dash, where his 48.70 took second, and 100M dash, where his 11.08 placed third. Yeager's 22-7 3/4 effort in the long jump placed fifth and stands as a season-best measurement. With a strong second day, Yeager could approach the NCAA provisional cutoff of 7,150 points.
The Sea Ray Relays marks his first career decathlon after spending two seasons on The Hill. Finally free of injury, Yeager posted a solid opening five events in his first decathlon as a Volunteer. The Farragut product spent last year's redshirt season getting healthy and training hard for the day he would get to don the orange in the decathlon.
The Tennessee two wrap up the final set of five events to conclude the decathlon Thursday. Competition begins at 2:30 p.m. The invitational section of the men's 5,000M and 10,000M run cap Thursday's action with 7:50 and 8:10 p.m. start times. Friday's schedule is full of open events on the track and in the field. Along with a few field events, Saturday's schedule is devoted to relays of all sorts.
World-Leader Gatlin Named SEC Track Athlete of the Week
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Tennessee sprinter Justin Gatlin earned nods as the Southeastern Conference Track Athlete of the Week, as announced Wednesday by the SEC office. Gatlin contributed 22 points and three wins to Tennessee's Gatorade Classic victory last weekend to defend the Vols' 32-year winning streak on Tom Black Track. Gatlin's 10.05 winner Saturday in the Gatorade Track Classic not only stands as his personal best, a meet record and ties the school record, but also is the fastest time in the world this year to date. Gatlin posted NCAA Outdoor automatic qualifiers in each of the three events in which he competed. In addition to winning the 100M dash, the sophomore from Pensacola, Fla., won the 110M hurdles in a personal best 13.65, the sixth-fastest time in UT history, and helped the 4x100M relay team to first in 39.00.
